Spain According to President Joan Laporta, 15 clubs are ready to join the European Super League project and hope that this tournament can start next season.
On Catalonia radio station RAC 1 , Laporta revealed the identities of these clubs as Barca, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Napoli, Roma, Marseille, Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, Porto, Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV, Club Brugge and Anderlecht. He added that, except for Atletico Madrid, the remaining La Liga clubs are interested in joining the Super League.
President Laporta speaks at the club's headquarters at Camp Nou in April 2023. Photo: Reuters
Many big Premier League clubs such as Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Tottenham have rejected the project and reaffirmed their loyalty to UEFA tournaments, including the Champions League and Europa League. Bayern Munich has also stayed away from Super League plans.
"I don't care if there are English clubs or not. They already have a super league with the Premier League," Laporta said, adding that he is confident that the list of clubs participating in the Super League will make the breakaway league strong enough to compete on par with the English top flight. He said the tournament could start next season or in 2025-2026.
Despite Barca's progress to the Champions League Round of 16, Laporta has criticised UEFA and the current format of the Champions League, claiming that the Catalan club does not receive enough money from the tournament. "Players, agents, UEFA and state clubs are getting rich, playing wherever they want, while Barca is being destroyed. We do not receive enough from Europe's top competition," the Barca president complained.
Last month, Anas Laghrari, co-founder of A22, the company that runs the Super League, made similar comments, saying the league had enough teams to start, but was still looking to convince other clubs. Laghrari was also confident that more teams would join once they understood the Super League vision.
In December 2023, the European Court of Justice ruled that UEFA did not have the power to ban the Super League. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin later quipped that they "didn't stop a great competition with just two teams", referring to the fact that only Barca and Real were ready to participate at the time.
A22 then announced a new format for the Super League, with 64 teams competing each year, divided into three divisions. The top division, called the Star League, will consist of 16 teams, divided into two groups of eight teams each. The groups will play a double round-robin, with the top eight advancing to the knockout stages along with the lower divisions. The new proposal will have promotion and relegation, a significant change from the 2021 draft.
Another difference between the Super League and UEFA competitions is that the participating teams will have the overall control of the tournament, rather than being managed by a federation. According to Real Madrid President Florentino Perez, who was the main force behind the creation of the tournament, this will help the teams earn more money, which means the players will also benefit.
Hong Duy
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