Remember the European Super League?

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Let's have a look back at one of the most controversial moments of recent history.

Many of the world's biggest clubs said they were forming a new competition. The European Super League.

You can read the initial report from Greater Manchester Football by clicking the link below

Clubs Announce New Super League Competition (greatermanchesterfootball.blogspot.com)

United Fans Champions League Final 2009

At the time of the announcement, the story said:

AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Atlético de Madrid, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano, Juventus FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid CF and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined the new competition as Founding Clubs.  

It is anticipated that a further three clubs will join ahead of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as practicable. 

Proposed format of the competition

Twenty participating clubs with fifteen Founding Clubs and a qualifying mechanism for a further five teams to qualify annually based on achievements in the prior season.

Midweek fixtures with all participating clubs continuing to compete in their respective national leagues, preserving the traditional domestic match calendar which remains at the heart of the club game.

An August start with clubs participating in two groups of ten, playing home and away fixtures, with the top three in each group automatically qualifying for the quarter finals. Teams finishing fourth and fifth will then compete in a two-legged play-off for the remaining quarter-final positions.  

A two-leg knockout format will be used to reach the final at the end of May, which will be staged as a single fixture at a neutral venue.

Joel Glazer, Co-Chairman of Manchester United and Vice-Chairman of the Super League said: 

“By bringing together the world’s greatest clubs and players to play each other throughout the season, the Super League will open a new chapter for European football, ensuring world-class competition and facilities, and increased financial support for the wider football pyramid.”

Reaction

The proposals were met with huge criticism. 

What happened next?

It was a dramatic few days as the whole thing collapsed rather quickly. On 20th April 2021 at 7 pm, Chelsea publicly signalled their intention to withdraw from the Super League after chairman Bruce Buck met with the players.

Less than one hour later, Manchester City commenced procedures to withdraw from the Super League. Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur followed soon after, whilst Chelsea was the last English club to formally announce its withdrawal in the early hours of 21 April.

The same day, Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan, and AC Milan confirmed their exits. Three days into its founding, nine of the twelve clubs had announced their plans to withdraw, with just Juventus, Barcelona, and Real Madrid remaining.

The new Champions League

It was reported in May 2022 that there would be huge changes to to the UEFA Champions League.

UEFA officials, clubs and leagues have agreed to revisions for the expanded Champions League format, including increasing the number of group stage matches to eight.

The reformatted group stage would still grow from 32 to 36 teams starting in 2024 but the number of rounds will only jump from six to eight per team rather than 10.

You can read more by heading to the ESPN website.

Many people have been critical of this new format. It's better than the Super League though? 

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