CNN
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The European Super League (ESL), which folded just 48 hours after launching in 2021, plans to return in three years, its new chief executive told the Financial Times on Wednesday.
German TV director Bernd Reichart said new formats were being explored and he hoped to have an “active and extensive dialogue” across football to find a new solution.
“We want to reach out to stakeholders in the European football community and expand that vision. Even the fans will have a lot of sympathy for the idea,” the former chief executive of RTL Deutschland told the FT.
“It’s a blank page. The format will never be an obstacle.
In April last year, 12 of Europe’s biggest and most successful clubs announced their intention to break away from UEFA’s current competition format and create their own Super League.
The proposal, which essentially created a closed shop for the most financially powerful clubs, sparked fury from fans who vehemently criticized the plans.
Many claimed it was a power grab, intended to secure the clubs’ status and revenue, which some of them were not currently earning from their performance on the pitch.
The response forced Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid to withdraw, but Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus remained members. assets.
A22 Sports Management, the organization now representing the three remaining clubs, believe a relaunch for the 2024-25 season is a “reasonable” expectation.
“European club football is facing existential problems,” Reichart said in a video posted on the A22 website.
“European football is losing its position as the undisputed leader in world sport. He’s not living up to his potential by not delivering the best games week after week.
“The current financial model of football is broken and unsustainable. Financial controls are inadequate and insufficiently enforced, leading to competitive imbalances and financial stress.
“The clubs must be sovereign and masters of their destiny since they bear all the risks and all the investments.
“Today they are not allowed to organize themselves freely at European level, while almost all domestic leagues are run independently by clubs, the governance of European competition lies solely with UEFA. . why ?”
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, one of the main architects of ESL’s project, recently said European football is “sick” and changes are needed to prevent young fans from drifting away from the sport.
He also pointed to the scarcity of football’s best teams competing and said Europe’s midweek competition should offer fans matches between “the strongest teams and with the best players in the world” throughout. of the year.
In a statement published by A22, Barcelona president Joan Laporta said his club are committed to creating open competition within the new structure.
“Please forget the Super League format and whether it’s a rich, elite, open or closed competition,” Laporta said.
“If Barça is there, it will be because it is an open competition, with the best criteria of professionalism at all levels, based on meritocracy and with full respect for national leagues.
“I assure you that you will have news soon, as the appropriate channels of dialogue will be established, working with the whole football family, without pressure and for the benefit of all. Bearing in mind the principle of solidarity, meritocracy , and I insist, to offer solutions for all clubs,” added Laporta.
Meanwhile, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli said “the overall goal is to put fans and footballers, the souls of the world’s finest sport, back at the center of this industry”.
Earlier, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said the ‘shameless’ plans for a new Super League amounted to taking ‘football hostage’.
UEFA did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment regarding Reichart’s comments.
