Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus, appear determined to see their Superleague ambitions through to the bitter end. Although the sports management company A22 have taken over the organisation of the competition, the three clubs are the ones pushing ahead with project.
The next big development on the matter will be the European Court of Justice ruling, which will decide whether UEFA have a monopoly on the market and whether UEFA can sanction clubs involved in the Superleague and the Champions League at the same time.
Last week the Superleague suffered a blow, as the Attorney General recommended a verdict which would allow UEFA to sanction clubs who attempt to leave their competitions.
Speaking at the Barcelona club Christmas dinner, President Joan Laporta told Marca that the ECJ decision would be watershed moment.
“What Luxembourg [the court] says regarding the Super League will be very important as far as European football is concerned. We want to improve the competition and have a reform in the governance model. It will mean a before and after in European football. What was the Bosman sentence for the players, this will be for the clubs. There will be a resolution in spring.”
Jean-Marc Bosman took his club to court back in 1995 and won his case, which allowed players to become free agents, giving them much more power over who they played for.
Even if the ECJ does give the Superleague a favourable ruling, their trouble will be persuading other clubs to leave UEFA. Currently the status quo suits the English teams as it keeps the gap between them and the rest of Europe’s clubs steadily increasing. Without them, the value of the Superleague would diminish significantly.
