The 12 rebel clubs that intend to form a European Super League (ESL) are “ready for dialogue” with the domestic leagues and UEFA, sources told ESPN.
With hostility and widespread opposition to the ESL proposal announced on Sunday from inside football and from political leaders such as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron, leading figures in the separatist cabal accept that a high level of talks is needed to and set out the plans.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin described the group’s leaders as “snakes” during an explosive press conference on Monday, in which he also said that the proposals, involving Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester United and others, were a “spit in front of football lovers “.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, the president of the ESL group, responded by saying that football must “change and adapt”, while rejecting Ceferin’s threat to ban rebel clubs from UEFA competitions.
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A meeting of the 14 Premier League clubs not involved in the proposal – the ESL plan includes Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham – took place on Tuesday, in an effort to agree on a strategy to combat initiative.
A statement after the meeting read: “The Premier League, along with the FA, met with clubs today to discuss the immediate implications of the Super League proposal.
“The 14 clubs at the meeting unanimously and vigorously rejected the plans for the competition. The Premier League is considering all available actions to prevent its progress, as well as holding the shareholders involved accountable according to its rules.
“The league will continue to work with key stakeholders, including fan groups, the Government, UEFA, FA, EFL, PFA and LMA to protect the best interests of the game and urge those clubs involved in the proposed competition to cease their involvement immediately.
“The Premier League would like to thank fans and all stakeholders for their support this week on this significant issue. The reaction demonstrates how much people mean to the open pyramid and the football community.”
Anger with the separatist plan remained intense, with fans burning a Liverpool shirt ahead of Monday’s game against Leeds United at Elland Road, and key ESL figures believe talks could slow things down and lead to a better understanding of the proposals, they said. said the sources.
Sources told ESPN that during Tuesday’s Premier League meeting, there was widespread anger over the behavior of the six absent clubs, but also acknowledging that a dialogue must be maintained to bring them back to the negotiating table.
Several clubs have expressed approval for a threat of heavy sanctions in an attempt to make those who are not present aware of the seriousness of their actions, sources added.
According to the ESL plan, an annual solidarity payment of 160 million euros would be paid to Premier League clubs to ensure that the money generated by the new competition will flow to the internal game.
ESL leaders are determined to set out their vision of staying in the domestic leagues while playing only in the middle of the week in a Super League.
However, opposition to the proposals remains strong, with national leagues and associations united in their determination to block any separatist competition.
Information from ESPN’s James Olley was used in this report