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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
John Brewin, Daniel Harris, Emma Kemp and Mike Hytner

European Super League: government vows to block English clubs – as it happened

Right, that’s it for the live blog today. There’s more to come on this subject, with stories and developments to follow later tonight. In the meantime, there’s some football - remember that - being played between Leeds and Liverpool. One of those clubs is in the eye of the storm. And it’s not the one coached by Marcelo Bielsa. Thanks for reading.

Peter Walker reports on the UK government reaction.

The Spanish sports minister José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes held talks with Uefa and other associations, as well as the rebel clubs, and has made this comment.

The Spanish government does not support the initiative to create a soccer Super League promoted by various European clubs, including the Spanish ones. We don’t want it to affect (Spanish soccer), and if it does, we want it to affect (it) in a good way.

Thomas Tuchel did his best to steer clear of the ESL questions. He would surely have preferred to discuss N’Golo Kanté’s positioning but had to address the issue in some form. Of the players and managers who have been forced to go on the record - and some that haven’t - the reaction appears to be one of distancing themselves from the furore.

We have a big subject and everybody’s talking – maybe it’s impossible for the players not to be influenced by it. There are many emotional reactions out there, which I can understand, but I honestly don’t know enough to judge it. I was not involved and my players were not involved in these decision makings. Maybe it’s better to step back and not to give our opinions or lose our heads about this.

On question of Manchester United’s future in the Premier League and whether the club are confident that the Premier League will wish them to remain in the answer United’s stance is that they have no intention of leaving yet accept they have to speak to the Premier League for the latter’s perspective on this. The wish is to work constructively with all of football’s governing bodies.

The government moving towards the German fan ownership model? Or a classic piece of horse bolting.

Anything else happen today? Oh yeah. Him. He’s gone. Again. For Now. Probably.

Updated

This season's Champions League semi-finalists facing ban?

Per Reuters

Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea will likely be banned from this season’s Champions League semi-finals, UEFA executive committee member Jesper Moller told broadcaster DR on Monday.

“The clubs must go, and I expect that to happen on Friday. Then we have to find out how to finish (this season’s) Champions League tournament,” said Moller, who is the head of the Danish FA. “There is an extraordinary executive committee meeting on Friday.”

Expanded Oliver Dowden quote.

We are examining every option from governance reform to competition law and mechanisms that allow football to take place. Put simply, we will be reviewing everything the Government does to support these clubs to play. I have discussed these options with the Prime Minister this morning, and we are working at pace across Government and with the football authorities. We will do whatever it takes to protect our national game.

More from the sports minister, Oliver Dowden. It appears the government will work hard to thwart what he calls this “dreadful proposal”.

Oliver Dowden, the sports minister, announces a fan-led review of football

He was speaking in the House of Commons in the wake of the six clubs choosing to break away to join the ESL. At first, he says, the issue will be with the FA and Premier League but the government is prepared to take a legal route.

Football is in our national DNA...I was appalled by the announcement made last night. It’s a tone-deaf proposal that goes against the spirit of the game. We will not stand by and let this happen.’ A small handful of owners want to create a closed shop. I believe passionately in our national institutions. They form solidarity across the generations. Now we will not hesitate to protect one of those national institutions, football. If they can’t act, we will. We are examining every option from governance reform to competition law and mechanisms that allow football to take place. We will put everything on the table. They have put money before fans.

Updated

Maya Wolfe-Robinson has been hearing the man in the street’s view on the Euro Super League.

Here’s The Fiver, and here’s a further discussion of *it*, and José, and a bit of Pippin Neville in the US of A.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, CEO of Bayern Munich, has issued a statement.

FC Bayern did not participate in the planning of a Super League....FC Bayern welcomes the reforms of the Champions League because we believe that they are the right step for the development of European football. The modified preliminary round will contribute to more tension and emotionality in the competition.

I don’t think the Super League will solve the European clubs’ financial problems caused by coronavirus. Rather, all clubs in Europe should work in solidarity to ensure that the cost structure, in particular the players’ salaries and the fees for agents, are adjusted to income in order to make European football more rational.

Sid Lowe gauges the reaction in Spain to the Great Unpleasantness.

But this is no tsunami, and there is not some irresistible momentum building. The Super League has not been welcomed, but nor has there been a furious backlash. Yes, there is anger from some, perhaps many, perhaps even most, but there is no unanimous outcry. It has been a huge story but not a morality tale like elsewhere.

The Glazer family have had an enjoyable day on the NYSE.

Uefa have other business at hand, namely Euro 2020 and where it might be played.

Per Reuters.

Uefa will take a final call on the status of Munich, Bilbao and Dublin as host cities for the 2020 European Championship on Friday after the venues could not guarantee spectator attendance.

Each of the 12 host cities were asked to submit their plans for allowing fans inside stadiums by early April and the nine other venues had promised filling stadiums to capacities ranging from 25% to full capacity.

However, Dublin and Bilbao were unable to commit to at least some fans being able to attend games while Munich’s mayor could not rule out blocking fans from attending games due to the infection rate and protection orders in the Bavarian capital.

David Conn examines the six English members of the ESL and their motivations for breaking away.

The English clubs are all still in the mega-rich elite, but each has its own particular ownership, motivation and financial situation that has led it to join, along with the obvious resolve for any waverers, not to be left behind.

Brad Mitchell in Chicago gets in touch. He hits on something, that the heavy American influence on the ESL project may not be reflected among soccer fans in the US.

“I have a hard time believing there’s any appetite for the Super League from American fans. One of the big reasons most of us started watching is because it’s something different than what’s offered here, the stakes of relegation and a chance for provincial clubs to play the best is so unique I genuinely do not think hardcore American fans will watch a close shop.

“Even casuals don’t watch the Champions League right now, it’s on mid-afternoon weekdays and buried being a streaming service paywall. That’s not going to change because the same 12 or 15 clubs are playing at those times. I can’t speak for fans in Africa or Asia, but I imagine many feel the same. This feels like a massive miscalculation and even with all the money in the world behind this league, who will be watching and who will be attending? Perhaps I’m romanticizing fans here, but without them all will this league last?”

Sean Ingle reports on that Uefa meeting.

David Mooney gets in touch. “I’m trying to understand the strategy of someone like Arsenal when they decide to join this super league. The Gunners are currently Premier League also-rans and will be Super League whipping boys.

“Without FFP rules holding them back, the likes of Manchester City will able to invest even more billions into putting together the strongest squad in history, so where will a team run by a tightwad like Stan Kroenke find itself? Where is Arsenal going to find its “fans of the future” once it has discarded its old “legacy fans” and it finds itself holding the wooden spoon season after season in the Super League?”

All good points, David, but just think of the money. Because that’s what they did.

From PA Media: More from that Uefa meeting, where the president, Aleksander Čeferin Ceferin accepted that the Super League proposals placed players in a “difficult situation” but warned: “If (the Super League) materialises and if we ban the players then of course, players will think twice before signing for a club.”

Sources close to Paris St Germain say their owner Nasser Al Khelaifi was “pushed and pushed and pushed” to join the Super League as a founder member but has held firm.
The Qatari is a member of Uefa’s executive committee and attended its meeting on Monday.

----

beIN SPORTS, is Qatari-owned, and holds Champions League rights in several territories. Qatar, of course, also host the World Cup next year. Were ESLplayers prevented from being released then that would damage the tournament.

The issue with the dirty dozen’s unilateral declaration is that there are myriad other interests in football beyond theirs.

There’s been a joint statement from the German football association, the DfB, and the DFL, the German football league body. As yet, no German club has joined the ESL throng, though rumours abound.

Some highlights.

German football, DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB) have taken note of the establishment of a Super League with great shock. We stand in solidarity with UEFA and President Aleksander Ceferin. At the same time, we support all countermeasures announced by FIFA and UEFA, but also by the national leagues and associations concerned. We are aware that this may also affect the appointment of German national players who are under contract with Super League clubs.

We must not allow the financial interests of a few top clubs from England, Italy and Spain to result in the abolition of tried and tested structures. Football in Europe also lives from the fact that it is theoretically possible for any club to compete with the best on the continent. This dream must not be replaced by an almost closed society.

Also and especially in view of the global corona crisis, it should be clear what football with its values should stand for: solidarity instead of egoism.

The charm offensive continues. From Sky’s reporter Kaveh Solhekol.

An addendum: The hope at United is that the European Super League will start as soon as possible...

Tim Seaward, from Perth in Scotland, is no fan of Uefa’s new Swiss System or its president. “So, the president of Uefa has just used his press conference to berate the founding members of ESL, while launching the new revamped Champions League, which was created to benefit only the clubs from the bigger leagues, further guaranteeing their place in future champion leagues. The hypocrisy is rank. Uefa had no problem siding up to these clubs in the past as long as they were in the financial picture, now they have been left on the sidelines they have all of a sudden developed a moral conscious regarding fairness. Give me break, they laid the groundwork for this to happen, they only have themselves to blame.”

Football Weekly is here, with the team discussing the FA Cup semis, José Mourinho and you know what.

Ian Holloway, until recently the manager of Grimsby Town, was positively fuming when asked by Talksport to consider the European Super League.

One of pure disgust, I have to say. I don’t know about you, but I spent time watching Prince Philip’s funeral on the weekend and for the first time in a long time I was really proud of being British. This morning, that’s just gone away. That man was so selfless in his life and I wanted us to come out of his pandemic caring about other people more than ourselves, but the opposite is happening. I am totally outraged and absolutely disgusted in how selfish some people can be. The game belongs to supporters, not them and I have never seen anything like it.

Ian Holloway: “pure disgust.”
Ian Holloway: “pure disgust.” Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/BPI/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

Thanks, Daniel for a hearty stint. Today was supposed to be the day when Uefa announced their new Champions League format, and that’s just been confirmed. Some of the details below. To be frank, the ‘Swiss system’ as detailed in this tweet, did not set the heart racing but it is not the main reason for the breakaway, that main reason being filthy lucre.

Some quotes from Uefa chief Aleksander Ceferin, and they take few prisoners.

This new format supports the status and future of the domestic game throughout Europe. It retains the principle that domestic performance should be the key to qualification and reconfirms the principles of solidarity… and open competition. This evolved format will still keep alive the dream of any team in Europe to participate in the UEFA Champions League thanks to results obtained on the pitch. “It will enable long-term viability, prosperity, and growth for everyone in European football, not just a tiny, self-selected cartel.

Right, that’s me done for today. John Brewin will take you through the next bit.

Manchester United: why ESL is a good thing

Manchester United’s stance, it is understood, is that the club view the European Super League as actually good in the long-term for football, as a whole. The belief is the ESL will be a far superior product to the Champions League as it is to pit the strongest teams with the best players against each other on a regular basis. This will strengthen the game in the short-term too, is the stance, and will also mean the best chance of recruiting new fans while also ensuring United’s current ones are kept on board.

United believe a bigger financial pie will be created which will mean larger solidarity payments for the rest of football than currently on offer. There is a concession that those clubs in the ESL will not play in the Champs League but, again, the view is that the latter competition can still continue. On the “closed shop” of guaranteed sides, the stance is that places remain open so while the dream is narrowed of competing against the very best it remains alive.

There is a view that Covid has not created but exposed clubs’ overspending and un-sustainability and so the ESL will allow financial frameworks and limited profit to be imposed to secure their future. All concerns of fans and other of the game’s constituencies are acknowledged and understood but the hope is that in time, just as the Champions League, Premier League, and Matt Busby taking United into the European Cup against the FA wishes, the ESL will be accepted as a vital refresh/evolution of the game.

The club point to how, say, United-Real Madrid, Manchester City-Juventus, and etc, is far more popular with TV audience numbers and etcetera than United, City and the rest versus smaller continental teams which occurs in what is viewed as a tame-ish group stage. Again, United accept they cannot be 100% sure of “overkill” of regular glamour fixtures but believe they are on firm ground. As they do with regard to their legal position though they don’t want this issue to be decided in court as they wish to be a constructive process involving ongoing dialogue with Uefa.

Claim it is the ESL is not a breakaway league as its midweek calendar allows domestic league and cup competitions to continue. Accept players will have a range of views. Not expected to be any on the record comment today from the club. United, the insistence is, do not wish to alienate any fan due to their participation in the ESL …

Updated

“Re Ceferin,” says David Wall, “can Uefa kick out City, Chelsea, Arsenal and United from this year’s Champions’ League and Europa League? That’d learn ‘em.”

I’m sure Uefa will do whatever they can, so if they think they can – legally – they will. My assumption is that he’s seeking legal advice and doesn’t know yet.

Gavin Patterson, a former chief executive of BT Group, has been approached to take charge of the mooted super league.

“I’m a Barcelona fan from Asmara, Eritrea,” says Natnael Yebio. “On Saturday I saw the club I support win the Copa Del Rey final, beating the likes of Granada and Sevilla in the quarters and semis respectively then Bilbao in the final. After a turbulent 18 months, I loved seeing my football team win a hard -ought competition. Little did I know the very next day the concept of competition, fair play, and unpredictability of the game we all love will be in jeopardy. The ecstasy and joy I felt from Saturday night has now being replaced with one of shame and disgust. It is certainly a sad day for football. The breakaway super league is elitist and protectionist. I genuinely can’t see myself watch the football team I support playing in the European Super League year in and year out playing the same 14 other clubs. I’m with Gary Neville on this, strip all 12 clubs of their titles and relegate them. There is a reason football is called the people’s game and it should remain that way.”

Back to Ceferin

And back to Sean Ingle: “Ceferin admits he is ‘angry’ about the actions of the Breakaway 12. “They write in their press release about solidarity, they don’t know S about solidarity. They want to be famous. They will be famous in the wrong way.”

He is then asked whether Uefa would like domestic leagues to kick out these these teams. “This is the decision of domestic leagues but we are in contact with them and I’m sure they will do the same sanctions, as we will do within the law of course. Not like this dozen, we work within the law always and within institutions.”

“I know Daniel Podence means well,” emails Shaun Wilkinson, “and of course he is not old enough to remember any different, but I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. The Champions League is already being cast in the glow of nostalgia for purer times, when in reality it is one of, if not the main reason why these greedy clubs are as rich as they are.”

This is true – similarly, the Premier League and Sky playing wounded parties is a touch. But what’s happening now is exponentially worse, and anything that gets the players agitating is worth having at this point.

Ceferin on Gianni Infantino, president of Fifa

“Look, let’s see tomorrow but I think yes,” he replies. “I think he will have to declare, because he’s the president of the world governing body of football. He says that he fully supports us and that he will strongly condemn this project. And I’m looking forward to hearing from him tomorrow at our Congress.”

Yet more Ceferin

Sean Ingle is back, and we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty now. “Ceferin is asked if it is right for a player, who might have signed with a club years ago, to be banned from his national team if his team joins the ESL. What should players do. If they get caught in this situation? ‘Yeah, it’s an interesting question, and I think that this is one of the legal questions,’ he says.”

I’ll bet. I wonder if the super league situation constitutes a breach of contract, if the players choose to see it as such.

Come on the Mariners! PA report as follows: “Grimsby have responded to the proposed launch of the super league by offering fans of the English clubs involved the chance to trade in their shirt for a Mariners one. The ‘shirt amnesty’ is open to holders of any Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham or Chelsea shirts that are less than three seasons old. In return the club are offering a replica 2020-21 Grimsby shirt, with the unwanted Premier League kits to be donated to local youth groups and humanitarian projects in Africa.

“In light of recent events surrounding the introduction of the European Super League, Grimsby Town Football Club will be running a shirt amnesty for those who hold shirts for the English clubs involved,” a statement on the club website read. “Without fans, football and Grimsby Town Football Club are nothing. “We would like to thank you for the fantastic support you have provided us this season and we cannot wait to welcome you back to Blundell Park as soon as possible.”

Still more from Ceferin

Sean Ingle again: “Čeferin admits that he was blindsided by the European Super League. “I’ve seen many things in my life, I was a criminal lawyer for 24 years, so I’ve seen different people, but I’ve never ever seen people like that,” he says. “If I start with Ed Woodward,” he adds.” I didn’t have much contact with him but he called me last Thursday in the evening, saying that he’s very satisfied with the reforms, that he fully supports the reforms, and that the only thing he would like to speak about is financial fair play. And obviously he already signed something else.”

And the full line on Agnelli: “He’s probably the biggest disappointment of all, I don’t want to be too personal. But the fact is I’ve never seen a person lie so many times, so persistently. That he did was unbelievable. I spoke with him on Saturday afternoon. He says, ‘These are only rumours. Don’t worry, nothing is going on.’ And then he said, ‘I’ll call you in one hour. And he turned off the phone. Next day, we get the announcement.’ I’ve seen many things in my life but not a situation like that. Obviously, greediness is so strong that all the human values evaporate.”

More from Ceferin

Here’s Sean Ingle: “Uefa president Aleksander Čeferin is currently giving a press conference in which he has confirmed that it will stage a revamped 36-club Champions League from 2024 - even if a rival European Super League is established.

He has also confirmed that Uefa is taking legal advice but says he hopes that “as soon as possible .. clubs will be banned from all our competitions - and the players from all our competitons”. He was asked whether that meant players from the 12 European Super League clubs would miss Euro 2020 but said it was too early to say.

Čeferin also condemned what he called a “disgraceful and self-serving proposal from clubs motivated by greed”, he said. “We are all united against this nonsense of a project.”

“I don’t want to call them the Dirty Dozen but …” he added.

Thomas Tuchel says he’s at Chelsea to be in the hardest competitions. He says he doesn’t get involved in what’s going on around football and would prefer to talk about the game – against Man City and coming up against Brighton - but he trusts his club, the owner of which is Roman Abramovich – and his role is to do the football stuff.

Ceferin is godfather to Agnelli’s daughter, believe it or not.

Aleksander Ceferin, the president of Uefa, takes ESL clubs and execs to task

“If I start with Ed Woodward, he called me last Thursday evening saying he’s very satisfied with and fully supports the reforms [to the Champions League]. The only thing he want to talk about was FFP, when obviously he had already signed something else ... Andrea Agnelli is the biggest disappointment of all, I’ve never seen a person that would lie so many times, so persistently as he did. It’s unbelievable ... We didn’t know we had snakes so close to us, now we know.”

Updated

Uefa say that as soon as they can, they’ll be banning super league players from their competitions. I’m not sure what that means for the remainder of this season, but we’ll have the full quotations for you presently.

“A genuine licence to kill the quintessence of football and the spirit of competition” – check what’s going on Italy, here.

Wolves’ Daniel Podence has made his thoughts clear on Instagram. “The Ball. The Song. The Dream,” he wrote. “The Zidane’s volley... Kaka’s Solo... Liverpool In Athens... Ole in Barcelona... Cris and Seedorf ... There some things we just can’t really pay for it.”

It’s probably worth noting that Man Uniuted’s Bruno Fernandes has replied with his approval.

“Bearing in mind Joel Glazer’s statement pointing out that the ESL will ‘ensure world-class facilities’,” tweets Matt Taylor, “it seems as good a time as any to revisit this John Oliver piece on the shenanigans of profit-hungry US sports franchise owners.”

Similarly, it’s also worth noting that the Glazer family has taken more than a billion pounds out of Manchester United ... but the roof still leaks.

Uefa's Aleksander Ceferin confirms punishment for players playing in the ESL

Updated

Reps on Manchester United's fans' forum respond to the club

“I am from Kochi, India,” emails Govind Sreekuma. “The clubs are underestimating the loyalty of us ‘foreign fans’. I became a Manchester United fan because my cousin was a Manchester United fan and he introduced me to the world of football when I was a child. Since then I’ve supported Manchester United as best as I could. But being a fan from India means I often get grouped under glory-hunting fans in football forums. There hasn’t been much glory for Manchester United since 2013 but like all of the ‘proper fans’ I too watch all the games irrespective of the time these games kick-off. I have been just as happy, angry and frustrated as the fans that visit Old Trafford. I have read about the Busby Babes. I’ve read about how this club had its origin. Success just gives temporary happiness. It’s the connection we feel to the club that makes us loyal. When the custodians of the club can’t be bothered to care for the history and traditions which Manchester United represent, then they have lost my loyalty. Don’t be mistaken. I’m still loyal to the concept of Manchester United but not to the money grabbing, insensitive corporation that it has become.”

Updated

Thinking a bit more about the timing of all this and bearing in mind the entry directly below this one, I wonder if the clubs wanted to get the announcement in before fans return to grounds and voice some opinions.

Here’s our roundup of the weekend action from Ligue 1.

“I think Ajax is still thinking about joining the European Super League,” says Martin Bax. “A spokesperson for Ajax said the following: ‘We think it’s too premature to react, because there are still too many loose ends to take a stance now.’

I think another clue to Ajax’s participation is the Super League website. There is a website on the Dutch country code top-level domain (www.thesuperleague.nl), but no website on, for example, the Portuguese or Belgian country code top-level domain (www.thesuperleague.pt or www.thesuperleague.be).”

That’s an interesting observation. I hope that, because Ajax is run by football people, things will be different – but you never know.

Rob Baxter emails with some thoughts on how all this might be stopped: “While there are limits on what the government will be able to do, one simple act (Brexit bonus?) would be to prohibit (or limit) working visas to overseas players associated with unrecognised leagues, meaning non-UK workers couldn’t train or play in the UK for any of the breakaway sides, and those overseas clubs wouldn’t be able to come in to play unless they were exclusively UK citizens.

Though the Glazers might be happy with having to move United out of Manchester and off to Dubai, removing the need to spend money on renovating Old Trafford, Tottenham would probably be less keen on mothballing a billion pound white elephant.

The logical endpoint is, of course, no home grounds for any of the clubs, and they jet off around the world playing exhibition matches in different countries, which is ‘the product’ certain owners want. That eats into training time, increases fatigue, and generally means that they’ll be playing fewer matches at a lower performance quality, often impaired by unusual conditions. You can’t expect players to perform at their best whilst constantly jetlagged or working what their body considers a night shift - the concept would be self-defeating from a competition, quality and player welfare perspective.”

Updated

“The German word for intense envy you could be looking for is ‘Eifersucht’,” emails Johannes Dünnebeil. “Maybe eifersucht is better translated as jealousy, but eifersucht is more suitable for the topic of a super league. Literally, eifersucht could be translated as ‘Addiction to zeal’. It is also a great word referring to the super league if you look at a German proverb from Franz Grillparzer which goes something like this:

‘Jealousy is a grievous passion that jealously seeks what causes grief.’

Nevertheless: I’m personally looking forward to all the big clubs founding their super league. And I hope Bayern are joining them, too. Equal opportunities have died a long time ago in football. Getting rid of the big ones could bring back at least some of it for the rest of us. Only this way we can put an end to the predictability with which Bayern München is going to win the league for another 10 consecutive years. Let the turbo-capitalists go and let’s reclaim our sport.”

Yes, and paradoxically, this is part of the reason for its creation – according to the BBC’s Dan Roan – who says the Italian and Spanish ESL clubs are concerned that their dominance is hindering their ability to make money. Oh the humanity.

Here’s our roundup of the weekend’s Bundesliga action.

Check out our Instagram feed for more on the day’s big stories.

“I am a 22-year old student from Bangalore, India,” emails Ram Padmanabhan. “My club is Liverpool FC. “What surprises me the most is how this is being marketed towards overseas fans in Asia, Africa and the Americas. As a Liverpool fan from India, I couldn’t care less about the European Super League, am disgusted by the idea and ashamed that this club wants to be a part of this. I feel quite sure that most other fans from overseas feel the same way. If they don’t yet, then they soon will, when they see their club playing against their traditional rivals for an 11th place play-off. Players won’t care at that point, and fans will be long past caring.”

Jonathan Key emails to remind us that both Liverpool and Arsenal signed up to the UN’s Sports for Climate Action Framework. “I wonder how today’s announcement can be in keeping with these principles?” he asks - rhetorically, I’m afraid.

“The big lie of capitalism,” emails Gary Naylor, “is that it supports competition. It does not – it craves certainty and monopoly. Sometimes helped by unions’ restrictive practices, it erects barriers to entry and limitations to jeopardy, all the while espousing ‘enterprise’. Sport is its antithesis.”

Yup. Competition is only ok if it keeps the circle of money moving – as with the NFL, for example, whose draft exists because a level playing field is necessary to serve capital.

I daresay the nation’s favourite tea-timely email will have some words to say today.

Updated

Is there a German word for intense envy?

Duncan Drasdo, CEO of the Manchester United Supporters Trust speaks

Sky’s Manchester reporter suggests that United’s owners might be surprised by the breadth and ferocity of the outcry; I’m not so sure given that when they bought the club, they needed police protection.

Duncan Drasdo, then comes on to note that “We’ve feared that this day was coming ... this isn’t about the legend of Manchester United.” He goes on to criticise owners who are involved to make money, describing “universal feelings of betrayal and disgust” at what’s happening – though it is an outcome that has long been feared.

He also says that dialogue between the club and its support has improved lately, but Ed Woodward always insisted that he wouldn’t support a super league and yet here we are. Drasdo also thinks that governmental intervention will be required, believing the absence of German clubs to be a factor of the 50+1 ownership model we discussed earlier – one which he hopes will be part of their solution to this problem.

More reaction from Liverpool fan group

On Sky, Kaveh Solhekol confirms the news broken by Sean Ingle earlier: the breakaway clubs have board members who do not welcome the plans but think there’s nothing they can do. He also says that he’s been told by such person that the concern is revenue, and “the good of the game is a secondary concern”.

He then goes on to say that owners would be secretly happy if their players were banned from internationals – though I guess how the players respond to this might alter that. Otherwise, he says that Chelsea and Man City are the English clubs who were reticent about joining in, but felt that they couldn’t be left.

Here’s Nicky Bandini on the weekend’s Serie A activity, which illustrated why the domestic league system is so great and why no football league should be a closed shop.

This is an important context to what’s going on the ESL. Fifa is rightly opposed to the proposals, but has also rejigged years of calendar into order to send the World Cup to Qatar.

George Davidson emails in an interesting thought: “National government may have limited formal powers to stop any super league. But local government may have more, stronger and long forgotten powers. Football Clubs use the name of their towns and cities with the permission of the local council. If Liverpool Council decides it no longer wants Liverpool FC to bear its name, then they could withdraw that right. The club could still exist and play in the new ESL but call itself something else (Red Mersey?) but they could no longer call itself Liverpool. That would be an utterly extraordinary move but maybe even the threat would be something.”

I guess that wouldn’t stop things, but it’d be something – hough I also think central government has a lot of power, because it can legislate. If Parliament passes laws preventing super league formation, whether directly – making it illegal – or indirectly – imposing prohibitive taxes, awarding clubs protected status or whatever – I’m not sure how this goes ahead.

As the great Lester Freamon once said, “follow the money”.

Andy Hunter, our Merseyside football correspondent, sends in Peter Reid’s thoughts as communicated to Sky earlier today: “The elitism is driving me mad,” he said. “You have to be careful what you wish for in football. I think they (the Super League clubs) will put the sort of elite players out in the so-called Super League and the Premier League will be devalued, and it shouldn’t be. Some of the toughest games when I was playing for Everton and Manchester City were against teams who had come up and been promoted, and the atmosphere was great.

“There is a devaluing of the domestic league which I hate. There should always be an aspiration to get to the elite. Burnley were going out of business a few years ago and are now a Premier League side. You have to have that dream, the tradition, the heritage of these football clubs. To have an elite 12 or 20, it doesn’t sit right with me.

“It’s all money. Real Madrid have massive debt, Barcelona have massive debt, Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid, has driven this. I love the competition of football, and I love the fans being there. If you have an elitism? Nah. Not for me.”

Ian Holloway has been speaking to talkSPORT and he’s not happy. “I wanted us to come out of this pandemic caring about other people more than ourselves and the opposite is happening,” he said.

“I am totally outraged, absolutely disgusted in how selfish some people can be the game belongs to supporters not them and I’ve never seen anything like it.”

He continued: “Who is actually in charge? That’s the worrying thing for me.

“Action needs to be taken. It’s not good enough to just say ‘you can’t do it’.

“It’s not strong enough, they should be relieved of their positions, stripped of their clubs.

“A fit and proper owner? Is this how people see football going? It doesn’t make sense.

“The biggest worry is, if you’re getting £3billion a year and not getting relegated, you’re going to want to do it.

“But what is football actually about? It’s about believing you can be better and catch the people who are the best. That’s what football is all about.”

Ander Herrera grew up on the terraces of Real Zaragoza, for whom his dad played, and if any player understands what football means, he understands what football means – his love for the game is profound, and he expresses it beautifully. And yet when you read this, you also remember who pays his salary; what an absolute mess.

Julian Knight MP, chair of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, speaks

“This is a dark day for football – a deal done behind closed doors apparently with no regard for supporters.

“Though this idea was mooted several months ago, what’s shocking is the speed at which this breakaway league has been announced.

“What’s needed is a fan-led review of football with real teeth and here we have more evidence to strengthen the case for it.

“Football needs a reset, but this is not the way to do it. The interests of community clubs must be put at the heart of any future plans.

“We, the Committee, will be discussing this when we meet tomorrow in a private session.”

“As a Derby fan the issue of access to the European Cup is increasingly an academic one, but I thought I’d add my perspective,” says David Hopkins. “My dad’s been a Rams fan since the 50s, and sadly he’s now ailing and probably won’t be back at Pride Park again. What he does still enjoy though is retelling me old stories of the glory days and the Mr Clough days in particular. Chief amongst those is Derby’s progress to the European Cup semi-final and thumping Benfica 3-0 along the way, the exact experience that the self-appointed elite now want to deny to provincial clubs. The absolute nerve of it. Particularly since the semi-finals equals one of their number’s best Champions League performance. Oh, and that Derby have won the league twice since another of them did so.”

Yes, this is exactly what the owners of ESL clubs want to guard against: clubs who aren’t them affecting their dividends.

Back to Mourinho, Miguel Delaney of the Independent reports that the decision to remove him was taken on Friday night, with the board “conscious of increasing fan and player unrest. Mourinho had basically lost almost the entire squad, bar a few who were keeping quiet.”

“How wonderful to see the typographic beauty of the Guardian’s layout of the 1990s,” emails Charles Antaki, “and how horrible to see the super league so long stalking the corridors.”

It’s great isn’t it? Little pleasures.

Graeme Wearden, our world business and economic developments man, emails in:

“Football history, tradition and fair competition don’t count for much in the financial markets. Juventus shares soared over 10% in Milan this morning, their biggest jump in a year, following the news that the Old Lady of Turin was joining the breakaway European Super League.

That lifted Juventus’s shares to their highest level since early March - they tumbled last month after 10-man Porto knocked Juve out of this year’s Champions League (the sort of shock result that football fans love, but which messes up the Big Clubs’ profits).”

“Manchester United, who were floated on the New York Stock Exchange by the Glazier family in 2012, are up 10% in pre-market trading (Wall Street trading kicks off at 2.30pm UK time).

Clearly the breakaway plan is seen as lucrative business for the clubs responsible, at the cost of wider harm to the football world.

‘The financial incentive for the clubs is plain to see, with a multi-billion dollar package at the heart of the scheme, albeit it would forever break the integrity of the club game,’ points out City analyst Neil Wilson of Markets.com.

‘The sort of additional revenues the ESL will deliver would need to be offset by a potential material decline or total loss of existing earnings from media deals through national leagues and UEFA, Wilson adds.”

This, from Peter Walker’s piece, is important:

Alison McGovern, the shadow sports minister, said the government must step in immediately, and introduce wider changes for the sport in England.

“For too long, the very fans who built football in this country have been treated as an afterthought,” she said. “We’ve seen communities lose their clubs, foreign owners strip assets and wealth, the neglect of the women’s game and fans priced out.

“That must now change. The government must get on with the fan-led review it has promised. There must be an independent regulator established. And these must all focus on long overdue action to ensure that fans can never again be separated from their clubs.”

Jason Rodrigues has investigated our archive to find the earliest mentions in our pages of a European super league.

esl
esl

More detail from Peter Walker on how the government might put a stop to things.

Real Betis aren’t messing around. Here’s their revised La Liga table.

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Uefa’s ExCo meets in Montreux today. Here’s what’s on the agenda.

Mourinho leaving Spurs: official confirmation

Thinking about what might happen next, I wonder what kind of legislation is possible to stop English clubs doing as they plan. Now that Britain is no longer in the European Union, if Parliament passes a bill banning such behaviour, or taxing it so prohibitively that it was no longer viable, the clubs’ only recourse would be to the courts; I think they’d have to prove that whatever the law said, it contravened a pre-existing law or principle.

More from Germany’s big hitters.

Confirmed: Mourinho out at Spurs

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“Heartbroken this morning,” says Liam Prince. “I grew up in inner-city Liverpool, and walked up to the Kop every other week with my mates. Through grief, addiction, tragedy, the love for my club has anchored me. The anticipation, the joy, the hope. I feel physically crushed this morning. I can’t support any other club. Liverpool is my club. You can’t just choose a club. It chooses you.”

I think a lot of us, the vast majority of whom do not support Liverpool, feel every word of this. Your football club is – was – literally the only thing in your life you can be sure is forever. Get in touch to let us know what you’re thinking.

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The other thing that makes you wonder if something’s happened is that Spurs don’t seem to have a replacement lined up; when they fired Mauricio Pochettino, it wasn’t long before Mourinho was installed. It’s possible that they’ve got someone who isn’t available, but I don’t imagine they were planning to fire him at this point.

Of course, Spurs play Man City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday. I’m surprised they’ve rocked the boat prior to that – it makes you wonder if something’s gone on – but perhaps they’re hoping for a bounce.

Gosh, I guess I was expecting that, but I wasn’t quite expecting it now. I think what happens with Mourinho is that it gets to a point at which clubs have to act because they’re worried that if they leave it longer players will be making other plans, so that even if a change is made, they’ve mentally checked out.

Breaking! José Mourinho sacked as Tottenham manager, say reports

More news as I get it.

Roan goes on to say that club owners are focused on “fans of the future”, not “legacy fans”, which is what they call those who were there before they were, and that in Italy and Spain, the concern is that the leagues have become predictable.

Dan Roan of the BBC reports that Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are the ESL ringleaders

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Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich will not be part of the ESL

I wonder how much of this has to do with their 50+1 ownership model – in German football, members must retain more than half of the club’s voting rights.

“What could be the potential role of the players here?” asks Tom Taylor. “Something that I feel has been under-discussed is what might happen if you have a bunch of players that come out against the plan, especially ones with a close connection to their club. What if they refuse to play in a Super League? At a minimum, I would imagine that large parts of player’s contracts will have to be renegotiated given that most have bonuses related to Premier League appearances, goals, position etc. These will be made worthless if the clubs are kicked out.”

I don’t know what playing contracts say but yes, though I’m extremely trepidatious about asking or expecting players – workers, however well-paid they are – to save football as we know it, I’m sure that if the PFA and all its members refused to participate, that would have an impact.

The other thing that’s being stressed to me in private is that not all the 12 breakaway clubs are 100% behind going off on their own. While there are certainly several fanatical believers in a closed league, it is suggested that others have jumped expecting a better deal either through the ESL or via Uefa concessions. Some of the 12, it is even said, want to see it fail but feel they have to be on the bus. Admittedly that is coming from those opposed to the deal, but still.

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Email from Japan: “My name is Lukas, I am 14 years old. I live in Japan, and have been a Liverpool fan for quite a long time. I just would like to be the voice of the football fans here in Japan. So many of us love the Premier League. When I hang out with my friends in Harajuku, the number of Prem shirts I see is astounding. Liverpool was my club and two years ago, when I was in a terrible spot, watching them made me feel so much better. This decision disgusts me, and, to all the fans out there, we, the Japanese fans of the EPL, stand by you against this disgusting corporate scheme.”

This is it, isn’t it? “When I was in a terrible spot, watching them made me feel so much better.” Football’s biggest problem is its own transformative, transcendent brilliance.

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A player – Charlie Austin – speaks out

Charlie Austin, who currently plays for QPR on loan from West Brom, has called for the Carabao Cup final on Sunday between Super League founding clubs Tottenham and Manchester City to be voided. “Football as we know it in this country is going to be smashed to pieces,” he tweeted. “These 6 clubs are a shambles and just proves this game is all about money to them! Void the league cup final Sunday!! Dock them all points and relegate them! No longer the working man’s game!”

I wonder to what extent the pandemic triggered this. My guess is that the various owners, certainly of the English clubs, thought that they’d have been selling TV rights individually by now – there’s currently a collective agreement that preserves what’s left of the level playing field. Perhaps without corona, they’d have satisfied themselves with demanding a bigger share of Champions League revenue for the next bit, but the deficit now is so substantial that the only way they can keep the dividends coming is to pursue the nuclear option.

“My favourite thing about Liverpool FC, or moment from LFC’s history,” emails Joel Whitaker, “is easily Robbie Fowler showing solidarity to the striking dockers. That complete dedication and connection to community feels so distant now.”

fowler dockers
Robbie Fowler revealing a t-shirt declaring his support for the dockers’ strike. Photograph: Michael Cooper/Allsport

There is a meeting of the ECA taking place this morning, minus the members of the 12 breakaway clubs, while Uefa tell me that their planned media press conference at 1.30pm is still going ahead. That was originally due to announce plans for a new Champions League format based on the ‘Swiss’ model. Obviously it will be very different in tone now. As for what Uefa and the leagues will do, one prominent source tells me that ‘Uefa and all the leagues and other clubs are going to come out absolutely swinging,’ and predicts that political and public pressure will play its part. ‘It’ll die or change by the 1000 cuts approach,’ is his forecast.

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“This proposed Super League will depend massively on TV revenues,” emails Brian Griffiths. “We should all inform the broadcasters that under no circumstances will we subscribe to any service involving the Super League. That would make them think twice. Like so many fans I have enjoyed going to a few away grounds over the years. In future that will be beyond the means of the vast majority of the big clubs’ fans. Occasional forays to Milan are one thing; regular trips quite another.”

Yes, I agree with all of this. If fans band together and collectively withdraw financial support, that might have an effect, and I feel likewise about away trips. Going abroad is a treat, but on a weekly basis it’s about beating rivals from your own country.

A little bit more on government intervention from Peter Walker, our political correspondent: “Options believed to be under consideration include taking action under competition laws, and wider reforms, for example guaranteeing fans a greater say in the running of clubs and the wider sport.”

“I’m numb with shock,” emails Rich Hall. “I thought the team I’ve supported for 50 years would never do anything like this. But the hypocrisy from the Premier League, Sky pundits and Uefa is as shocking, pretending that what they’ve done to the sport has somehow been benevolent and in the interests of all clubs and not just the select group that has really benefited from the last 20 years.

“We’ve got what we’ve deserved for not putting a stop to this any earlier. I’m done with the Premier League, I will cancel Sky Sports, BT Sport and go and watch (when we are allowed back) the local League Two team, Cheltenham Town, who need my money as a watching fan, and who have a chairman and board of directors who know they are temporary custodians of the club as they often state they are.”

On not expecting your club to participate, I’m reminded of this brilliant piece from the brilliant Shalom Auslander, about his dog and Israel’s independence day. I think it’s harsh to say we’ve got what we’ve deserved – though back in 2005, the campaign against the Glazers buying Manchester United was clear in outlining where we were headed, it shouldn’t be up to football fans to stand up to sovereign states and such. That’s what the government and footballing authorities are for.

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Self-care department: I gave a little bit of my football story, and my relationship to my club below. Feel free to send in yours – what you love and why.

The government are getting involved

Peter Walker, our political correspondent, emails as follows: “Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, is to make a statement to the Commons on Monday afternoon, probably at about 5pm. It is understood that officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are examining what powers the government might have to stop the plan, and what action it could take. Options believed to be under consideration include taking action under competition laws, and wider reforms, for example guaranteeing fans a greater say in the running of clubs and the wider sport.”

If only they’d been so exercised all along, eh, but at this point we’ll take what we can get.

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Ah man, I love Susie Dent.

I wonder what we’ll hear from the various players and managers. I can’t imagine Jürgen Klopp putting up with this, while Ole Gunnar Solskjær was the only Manchester United player to speak out against the Glazers when they bought the legal ownership of the club in 2005. I’d also be surprised if the players were happy with this, but I guess Marcus Rashford is busy running the country at the moment. Maybe during his dinner break.

On Sky, they make the point that the resignations from the ECA suggest that the clubs are serious about this, rather than just trying to get a better deal from Uefa. On the other hand, that’s exactly the effect they’re aiming for and they’ll want the various bodies to think they’ll go through with it, so I guess we’ll see.

This is what it’s going to take. This is what it needed 40 years ago.

Aston Villa chief brands plans as 'grotesque'

The Villa chief executive Christian Purslow, formerly of Liverpool, has branded the Super League a “grotesque concept”. Speaking to BBC Radio Four, he said: “These proposals do away with sporting merit. It would enable a small number of clubs to be in this competition come what may and, for millions of people in football, that goes against everything the sport means and stands for. The idea is that the uncertainty that comes with sport, that makes it so compelling, that we all love, is actually damaging to the business model of these huge clubs. So the scheme is designed to take away that uncertainty, to give predictability to their businesses so that, if they’re badly managed or have a poor year, they’re still in the premier tournament. Does that sound like sport or football to you? To me it sounds a grotesque concept.”

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Juventus, Inter and Milan also leave the ECA

And Andrea Agnelli has resigned as chairman. Not that long ago, Juventus were stripped of a league title and relegated from Serie A for bribing referees.

The scene outside Juve’s Allianz Stadium on Monday morning.
The scene outside Juve’s Allianz Stadium on Monday morning. Photograph: Massimo Pinca/Reuters

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The Guardian understands ... more terrific news

One senior executive at a Premier League club outside the big six has told the Guardian he believes the League will move to kick out the clubs involved in the European Super League and that they will continue with their plans regardless.

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Manchester United stand down from the European Club Association

And Ed Woodward has stood down from Uefa’s Professional Football Strategy Council. Here’s the club proudly announcing his appointment to it.

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I was lucky enough to have Andy Burnham on my pod the other day, during which we had a long chat about football governance and how we can save the game. Should you fancy it, you can find it here:

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The Labour Party’s Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, which is home to two of the Super League founder clubs in Manchester United and Manchester City, tweeted: ‘That phrase ‘the game’s gone’ always used to annoy me. But with VAR and now this, nothing else better sums up where we are. It’s the phrase of the day. #TheGamesGone.’”

JP Morgan confirmed as financial backers

That question about where the money’s coming from: those famed football fanatics at JP Morgan.

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In other news, such that there is any, Javier Hernández scored twice as LA Galaxy beat David Beckham’s Inter Miami.

“My question is do we know where the funding is coming from?” asks Dave Fox. We’re hearing clubs are being promised billions of Euros for signing up but where’s that coming from? Surely there’s no TV deal for a still-theoretical competition and I can’t imagine the greedy founder clubs pooling their money to distribute amongst themselves (and besides we already know the likes of Inter, Juve and especially Barcelona are doing this as a desperate grab for much needed cash so they won’t be in a position to give any away).”

It’ll be TV deals and sponsorship. I wonder whether, if fans organise a boycott, whether the money they think will be forthcoming will be forthcoming – audiences need to feel they’re watching something important, which needs crowds. But the explosion of the international market was when the balance of power changed – matchgoing fans lost a lot of their power when broadcast revenues outstripped bums on seats as the primary source of income.

“I hate this idea like most,” emails Yoxall, “but after 15 years of railing against the Glazer’s ownership of Man United with no help from the Premier League, I have little sympathy for the suits there who are now claiming to be benevolent gatekeepers of the game with the sole aim of protecting the pyramid. After all, they signed off on charging £15 to watch West Brom v Burnley during a pandemic, so greed isn’t entirely limited to these 15 clubs.

But it’s a sad day. Any illusion of competition at the top level has been stripped bare and the greed of these owners made clear for all to see. The PL are reaping what they’ve sown over a couple of decades of nominal fit and proper persons tests and looking the other way as questionable regimes overtook our biggest clubs. The PL were happy to line their pockets whilst fans were screwed and in an age when sleaze is prevalent across politics as well as sport, this is no surprise. RIP football.”

I can’t disagree with any of that, and actually mentioned it in the piece below summing up the weekend action. When we fought the Glazers, we received very little help from the press, no help from the football authorities and no help from the government, who are ultimately responsible for their failure to protect our clubs as community assets. But the rot probably goes back to when Spurs were allowed to become a plc, so legally obliged to please shareholders not fans, and takes in the formation of the Premier League, Sky, the Champions League and all the rest of it. A lot of the bodies suddenly opposed to the rampant commercialism of it all actually helped it to happen and have been merrily benefitting from it; their problem now is that they’ve been cut out.

Email: “Given the superficially cack-handed timing of this ‘announcement’,” says Karl, “do you think this is just the ‘elite’ clubs establishing an early negotiating position that they’re happy to make concessions from ... for a few extra billion from FIFA, UEFA and their respective national FAs and Leagues?”

The state of the detail and branding certainly suggests this is a kite-flying situation, peddling aggression they know cannot stand in order to make off with a less dreadful but still dreadful concession. But levels of immorality and entitlement are so stratospheric among those responsible that it’s impossible to predict what might happen next.

ESL issues notice of legal proceedings

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The late, extremely great Bill Shankly once said this:

“The socialism I believe in isn’t really politics. It is a way of living. It is humanity. I believe the only way to live and to be truly successful is by collective effort, with everyone working for each other, everyone helping each other, and everyone having a share of the rewards at the end of the day.”

Liverpool's Spirit of Shankly

Manchester United Supporters Trust

Manchester United Supporters Trust has released the following statement in response to the emerging speculation about the creation of a European Super League.

These proposals are completely unacceptable and will shock Manchester United fans, as well as those of many other clubs.

A “Super League” based on a closed shop of self-selected wealthy clubs goes against everything football, and Manchester United, should stand for. To bring forward these proposals without any fan consultation, and in the midst of a global pandemic when people should be pulling together not serving their own selfish interests, just adds insult to injury.

When Sir Matt Busby led us into the European Cup in the 1950s, the modern Manchester United was founded in the tragedy and then triumph that followed. To even contemplate walking away from that competition would be a betrayal of everything this club has ever stood for. We urge everyone involved in this proposal including Manchester United to immediately withdraw from this proposal.

Arsenal Supporters' Trust

The AST deplores the announcement by Arsenal that they are breaking away to form a European SuperLeague.

This represents the death of everything that football should be about.

As fans we want to see Arsenal play in competitions based on sporting merit and competitive balance.

Not surprisingly this action has been taken with no consultation or dialogue, continuing the silence and contempt that Kroenke has shown for Arsenal supporters since day one.

The AST will do everything we can to oppose this. It will require firm action by the Government and the Football Authorities.

We urge all Arsenal fans and all football fans to fight this by speaking up and acting against. By standing together we can see off this greedy proposal.

The AST will now work with FSE, FSA, and other fan groups at both Arsenal and across the game in opposition to this.

Chelsea Supporters' Trust

Fan bodies are livid – here's the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust

Tottenham Hotspur was the first British club to win a European trophy. We blazed a trail that caught the imagination of fans everywhere. Yesterday, the current Board of THFC betrayed the Club, its history and the magic that makes this game so special when they put their name to a statement announcing the formation of a breakaway European Super League.

This statement, signed by self-appointed “leading clubs”, was put out late on a Sunday night. It was made not only after no consultation with supporters, but in the face of clearly stated opposition to key parts of the announcement.

We have always tried to maintain a pragmatic position of engagement with the Board of THFC, even under the most trying of circumstances. But enough is enough. The current Board is prepared to risk the Club’s reputation and its future in the opportunistic pursuit of greed. One of England’s most famous clubs could find itself expelled from English league competition. Its players could be banned from international competition. And yet the current owners – mere custodians of a 139-year-old institution – are prepared to risk it all for avarice and self-aggrandisement.

We demand the Board immediately disassociates itself from the breakaway league. Only then can meaningful discussions about change take place. If the Board does not do this, we will have no choice but to call on new owners prepared to safeguard the past, present and future of our great Club to step forward and work with us.

THST Board
19 April 2021

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The year before last, I was lucky enough to make a biopic of Matt Busby, the pioneering manager who led United into European competition. One of the many things that stuck with me from that experience was interviewing the former club secretary, whose mum and auntie worked at the club during the crash. “They went from washing kits to polishing coffins,” he told me. Imagine that. And imagine what I was told by Jimmy Murphy Jr, son of Jimmy Murphy, Busby’s assistant, who said that his dad had to ring Billy Whelan’s parents “To tell them ‘your son’s dead’.”

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So personal stories: my grandad, who I never met, had a season ticket at Old Trafford in the 40s and 50s – it’s the only place both of us have frequented. He gave the gift of United to my dad who then passed it on to me.

Anyway, when he was eight, my dad came home from school to discover that half the team, along with various staff and journalists, had been killed in the Munich air crash while trying to win the European Cup. This is the very same competition that United defied the authorities in which to compete – they somehow regenerated to become champions of Europe 10 years later in a night of unfathomable emotion. The Glazer family think this history less important than augmenting their already substantial personal exchequer.

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What an absolute state, eh? We all have our own stories about what football means to us and why, which makes this latest abomination a personal and communal attack. It might not seem this way but it doesn’t have to be this way, so make a noise, shut your wallets and open your mouths. This ain’t over yet, not by a long chalk.

Hi everyone. I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

apocalypse now

Hi to “Mike ex Liverpool fan”!

“Last night my 13-year-old son said to me when the rumours were getting stronger: ‘if this happens my new team are Brentford’. He has been brought up a Liverpool supporter all his life through me and his grandad and I feel the same way. Strange to see no players reacting on social media. Have they all been given gagging orders not to say anything?”

I’ve been wondering the same thing, Mike.

Handing over now to Daniel Harris, who will see you through the next few hours of reaction.

National League side Bromley have offered a lifeline to displaced fans.

Twitter user gulmoher poses this mother of a question: “how do you see the players such as Kane responding to the potentiality of a ban on their international & domestic careers if they choose to play in super league?”

Well, as with most things in the financially inflated world of modern football, it could come down to money. Fifa has a powerful hand, and could yet threaten bans from international football for players who participate in the breakaway premier league, which could force a choice between said money and, say, playing at the World Cup. All speculation on my part, of course, but really anything can happen at this point.

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Former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has led criticism of the new proposals, telling Reuters that a super league would be “a move away from 70 years of European club football”.

“Everton are spending £500m to build a new stadium with the ambition to play in Champions League. Fans all over love the competition as it is,” he said. “In my time at United, we played in four Champions League finals and they were always the most special of nights. I’m not sure [if] Manchester United are involved in this, as I am not part of the decision making process.”

Like its Tottenham counterpart, the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust has released a statement which “deplores the announcement by Arsenal” that the club is involved.

“This represents the death of everything that football should be about. As fans, we want to see Arsenal play in competitions based on sporting merit and competitive balance.

“Not surprisingly, this action has been taken with no consultation or dialogue, continuing the silence and contempt that Kroenke has shown for Arsenal supporters since day one.”

The AST said it will do everything in its power to oppose the move.

“We urge all Arsenal fans and all football fans to fight this by speaking up and acting against. By standing together we can see off this greedy proposal.”

Leeds United chairman Andrea Radrizzani has backed Gary Neville’s furious tirade on Sky Sports (it’s here if you missed it), making clear his thoughts

Radrizzani has spoken previous about protecting the sanctity of the game, following renewed investment from San Francisco 49ers. “The domestic league has a value that is still important because it is what generates resources for all of the parameters in football,” he told Leeds Live in January. “All the clubs and the entirety of domestic football need to defend and preserve this value.”

“Morning,” writes Dan. “This is what happens when sporting institutions become financial behomeths loaded up on debt. Top football clubs are merely large companies with two revenue streams; sponsorship and broadcast content creation (what you and I might have once called a football match). These institions are hollowed out shells of what they once were. To support one is merely to find yourself cheering for the shirt, unless one is particularly motivated by the choice of exclusive club tyre sponsor.

“We all saw that ticket paying fans didn’t matter once games continued without them due to Covid. This is the logical end point of that. The broadcast deals are in place, the billions assured. Fans will tune in from Asia and America. The fan in the stadium, parting with their hard earned cash is meaningless and now, shown how much their clubs really think of them. Top level sport is merely a content creation toy for the billionaires.”

Hello, good morning. If you have just awoken to the apocalypse – and not, like me, already spent several hours contemplating this madness from Australia – take a walk down to your local newsagency and peruse the front pages of every newspaper. Easier still, we have rounded them all up for you right here. The headlines are a variation on a theme of “football at war”, embellished with references to the “shameless six”.

This certainly jars, now we know what we do.

And with that, I’m passing the batton on to my colleague Emma Kemp, who will be here for the next hour or so.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust has put out a statement, accusing the club of a “betrayal” and saying “enough is enough”.

“Tottenham Hotspur was the first British club to win a European trophy,” it reads. “We blazed a trail that caught the imagination of fans everywhere. Yesterday, the current board of THFC betrayed the club, its history and the magic that makes this game so special when they put their name to a statement announcing the formation of a breakaway European Super League.

“This statement, signed by self-appointed ‘leading clubs’, was put out late on a Sunday night. It was made not only after no consultation with supporters, but in the face of clearly stated opposition to key parts of the announcement.

“We have always tried to maintain a pragmatic position of engagement with the board of THFC, even under the most trying of circumstances. But enough is enough. The current board is prepared to risk the club’s reputation and its future in the opportunistic pursuit of greed. One of England’s most famous clubs could find itself expelled from English league competition. Its players could be banned from international competition. And yet the current owners – mere custodians of a 139-year-old institution – are prepared to risk it all for avarice and self-aggrandisement.”

The THST goes on to demand the board “immediately disassociates itself from the breakaway league” or it will have “no choice” but to call for new owners.

“Morning Mike.” Morning reader David Wall. “Everyone has remarked on the greed of the people behind this, but what strikes me the more I think about it is their stupidity. You don’t announce that you’re going to carry out a coup in a few months, or even a year’s time, giving the people you’re acting against time to get their retaliation in first. You just do it when you’re ready to go. And this wasn’t a leak, it was an announcement. How did the English clubs think the Premier League was going to react? It gives the PL plenty of time to call an EGM, propose expulsion for any club acting against for a competitor league (and I’ll bet they can find the 14 clubs required to vote through new rules), and then bar the six clubs from next season. At least, that’s what the PL should do, and those clubs have made it easy for them. Like Jonathan Liew said, ‘the smartest guys in the room’.”

The Guardian’s own Jonathan Liew has written that the idea of a European Super League is one that could only have been devised by someone who truly hates football to its bones.

Who hates football so much that they want to prune it, gut it, dismember it, from the grassroots game to the World Cup. Who finds the very idea of competitive sport offensive, an unhealthy distraction from the main objective, which in a way has always been capitalism’s main objective.

More below:

But not everyone agrees:

On Uefa’s stance on all this: there’s an executive committee meeting today in Switzerland. Italian journo Fabrizio Romano reports Europe’s governing body is on the same page as Fifa, the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga in that teams will be banned from the Champions League and domestic leagues if they take part in the European Super League.

“Soulless”, “absolutely disgusting”, “bang out of order”... Danny Murphy and Dion Dublin didn’t hold back when airing their views on the BBC. Former Liverpool midfielder Murphy said he expected a backlash from managers and players, not least because of Uefa’s threat to ban European Super League clubs from domestic leagues. (There is also the previous threat from Fifa to ban participating players from World Cups.)

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has also weighed in, saying the new league was all about “money and greed”.

“Let’s hope it’s stopped in its tracks,” Keane told Sky Sports. “We talk about big clubs, Bayern Munich are one of the biggest clubs in the world. At least they’ve made a stance, which is a good start.”

Arsène Wenger knew this was coming.

And here’s Jürgen Klopp talking on the subject, from more recent times, in 2019:

“For me, the Champions League is the Super League, in which you do not always end up playing against the same teams. Why should we create a system where Liverpool faces Real Madrid for 10 straight years? Who wants to see that every year?”

No need for any further explanation on this post:

There’s a lot to take in about the proposed competition, but this says a great deal – and also gives an indication of just why people are spitting blood over it.

From the statement from the 12 clubs: “Founding clubs will receive an amount of €3.5bn solely to support their infrastructure investment plans and to offset the impact of the Covid pandemic.” It added: “The new annual tournament will provide significantly greater economic growth and support for European football … and [solidarity payments] are expected to be in excess of €10bn during the course of the initial commitment period of the clubs.”

Like it or not, the idea of a European Super League has been rumbling away for a while now, but for it to have transferred from the minds of fanciful super-rich club owners to an actual, tabled plan, it took a remarkably short period of time.

“Things that usually take years were done in hours,” a senior executive of one of European football’s biggest clubs told the Guardian. More from Sean Ingle below:

In case you missed it (handily, the news was confirmed by the clubs just after 11pm in the UK, so you may well have), the founding – and governing – members of the European Super League are (deep breath, boo, hiss) AC Milan, Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Internazionale, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham. That’s six of the best from the Premier League, and three each from La Liga and Serie A. Notable omissions for now are PSG and Bayern Munich. A further three clubs are expected to join before the inaugural season, which is intended to start in August. Five more clubs can qualify annually based on achievements in the prior season. The Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, is behind the plan, along with Joel Glazer of Manchester United and Andrea Agnelli of Juventus.

Updated

Preamble

Football in turmoil! So reads Monday’s back page of this publication – a sentiment echoed widely elsewhere – after 12 of Europe’s biggest clubs confirmed late on Sunday they are to establish a breakaway continental super league, the existence of which would threaten the future of the Champions League and could have wide-reaching impacts on the entire structure of the club game.

You could say the news has caused something of a stir in the football world.

Stay with us as Europe and the UK wake up and bleary-eyed fans ask themselves if the news was just part of a feverish Stilton dream or if, indeed, European football could really be about to undergo the biggest transformation seen in a generation.

Anyway, do drop me a line if you need to, either on email or Twitter - @mike_hytner. Strap yourselves in, wild times incoming.

Updated

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