European Super League

[squirtyflower]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article6637943.eceFLORENTINO PEREZ, the big-spending president of Real Madrid, wants the world’s wealthiest football clubs to create a European Super League, and is ready to take on Uefa if they do not adapt the Champions League to better suit the ambitions of the biggest clubs.

“We have to agree a new European Super League which guarantees that the best always play the best — something that does not happen in the Champions League,” Perez said on Spanish television yesterday. He indicated that he would push for a breakaway “closed shop” competition if Uefa refused to consider his proposal. Perez, who in the first month since returning to the presidency of the nine-time European champions has committed £180m on new players, has already clashed with European football’s governing body over spending.

He insists he does not want to replace domestic competition, just guarantee that clubs such as Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool, Milan and Juventus could rely on participating every season in a lucrative elite competition, no matter where they finish in La Liga, the Premier League or Serie A. Madrid have qualified for the Champions League, the final of which will be at the Bernabeu in 2010, in each of the last 12 seasons but have not reached the quarter-finals since 2004.

Milan, Italy’s most decorated club in Europe, failed to qualify for the competition last season and admit the loss of income has affected their transfer dealings. The market has been dominated this summer by Madrid, who set a world record last month by signing Cristiano Ronaldo for £80m. They also spent £56m on Kaka, who joined from Milan, and last week £31m on Lyons striker Karim Benzema. Uefa president Michel Platini is perturbed but says: “If Madrid have the credit to do so, what can I do? We’ll try to put rules in place but it may take two or three years.”

Since assuming the Uefa presidency, Platini has tried to make the Champions League more open to clubs from outside the traditional elite, notably by introducing an unseeded third qualifying round as of this August, the sort of move Perez thinks puts at risk the guaranteed participation of the heavyweights. Platini is dismissive of the possibility of a breakaway league: “I don’t think it’s a threat.”

The last serious move to form a rebel European league, in the late 1990s, was led by Milan. Uefa responded by offering more Champions League places to clubs from the stronger domestic competitions, notably Italy, England and Spain.

EUROPE’S POTENTIAL SUPER LEAGUE
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Internazionale, AC Milan, Juventus,Bayern Munich, Lyons, Porto, Celtic, Rangers, Olympiakos

Just got back from the newsagents and the front of the sports section has this knobjockey saying that we need guaranteed qualification for the Champions League for the clubs above.
WTF is he on? He borrows millions (twice) to build a team and then has to get it back off the government when he can't pay his debts. It is Perez killing football and no-one else. It smacks of racism as they can see how some non-white non-western owners are looming large in their rear view mirror, and they don't like it.

 

[bluemoon05]

Re: European Suoer League

Celtic and Rangers? Bahahaha

 

[squirtyflower]

Re: European Suoer League

Celtic and Rangers? Bahahaha

Add to them Porto, Athletico and Olympiakos!

 

[GMM]

Re: European Suoer League

Celtic and Rangers? Bahahaha

Is it better to have wealthy neo-rich clubs with no European track record worth talking about (like, erm, City) or traditionally well supported clubs who have contributed significantly to European football like Celtic, Rangers, and a good few French, Dutch, and Portuguese sides?

If you use wealth alone as criteria for inclusion in any future Ero competition then you are eliminating competition and creating a stale hegemony for the future.

 

[bluemoon05]

Re: European Suoer League

Celtic and Rangers? Bahahaha

Is it better to have wealthy neo-rich clubs with no European track record worth talking about (like, erm, City) or traditionally well supported clubs who have contributed significantly to European football like Celtic, Rangers, and a good few French, Dutch, and Portuguese sides?

If you use wealth alone as criteria for inclusion in any future Ero competition then you are eliminating competition and creating a stale hegemony for the future.

I wasn't really thinking in terms of wealth, simply in terms of quality of football. Celtic and Rangers would do well to be mid-table in the Prem.

 

[squirtyflower]

Re: European Suoer League

[
If you use wealth alone as criteria for inclusion in any future Ero competition then you are eliminating competition and creating a stale hegemony for the future.

This is the point for me, I think the national leagues would become incredibly stale, but the so too would this Euro league. Seeing the same teams play one another year in year out without change would pall after awhile.

 

[mcfc78]

Re: European Suoer League

ruining football... wonder if twatini has a opinion on this?? surely no french teams are super any longer?? lyon? never get to the final, of chimps league. .

 

[DontLookBackInAnger]

Re: European Suoer League

It's not going to happen, football is like the WWE, it's important to get the wins of the big clubs up through the season so you can have main events with the teams that have won throughout the year. I can see them perhaps closing qualification(or offering guaranteed places)for the "bigger" clubs.

 

[GMM]

Re: European Suoer League

Celtic and Rangers? Bahahaha

Is it better to have wealthy neo-rich clubs with no European track record worth talking about (like, erm, City) or traditionally well supported clubs who have contributed significantly to European football like Celtic, Rangers, and a good few French, Dutch, and Portuguese sides?

If you use wealth alone as criteria for inclusion in any future Ero competition then you are eliminating competition and creating a stale hegemony for the future.

I wasn't really thinking in terms of wealth, simply in terms of quality of football. Celtic and Rangers would do well to be mid-table in the Prem.

Fair enough - the SPL is undeniably poor at the moment, and there's probably not an EPL club that either of the Old Firm could out-bid for a player these days.

 

[kunaguero10]

Re: European Suoer League

if its wealthiest we would be in wouldnt we?