A number of clubs have clarified their position on a European Super League after Sunday night’s announcement.
While there is room for three more founding clubs in competition, a number of regulars in the Champions League have already spoken out against the new tournament.
Benfica, Valencia and Borussia Monchengladbach have all criticized the idea of a Super League, while former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, now CEO of Ajax, has remained loyal to UEFA, although the Dutch club have stopped condemning the plans. .
These clubs did not necessarily guarantee a place in a new Super League, but also some European giants, who otherwise could have registered for the tournament, ruled.
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Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said his club agreed with ECA’s views on the Superliga following a meeting on Sunday.
Instead, the German club supported the UEFA Champions League reforms, in line with the ECA’s position.
Bayern Munich
Watzke also said that Bayern Munich agrees with Dortmund in this regard.
Bayern boss Hansi Flick has spoken out against the plans, saying he cannot see how the Superliga would benefit European football.
While Bayern will not officially talk about the matter, President Karl Heinz Rummenigge should replace Juventus’ Andrea Agnelli on the UEFA executive committee, a blow to those hoping to draw the German giants away from the league. Champions.
porto
It has been speculated that the Portuguese side Porto may be one of the three additional “founding members”, but President Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa says they will not participate.
“We can’t participate in anything that goes against the rules,” he said. “We are in the Champions League and we hope to stay there for many years.”
PSG
It seems that PSG will maintain their loyalty to UEFA and, in particular, to its president, Aleksander Ceferin, the French club eager to avoid tarnishing its reputation with the 53-year-old, who was left outraged by the break-up.
The Champions League semi-finalists would be against the idea of restricting European competition to a select number of clubs.
Qatar’s ownership of PSG is undoubtedly eager to stay ahead of FIFA with the World Cup next year.
Club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi is also the president of beIN Sports, which has the rights to broadcast the Champions League, which means that a devalued UEFA competition would have an impact on his business.
PSG midfielder and former Manchester United star Ander Herrera has become one of the first major footballers to speak out against the tournament.
However, in an interesting twist, Al-Khelaifi refused to take over the ECA presidency.
RB Leipzig
Another German club that has been linked to the tournament is RB Leipzig, which enjoyed an impressive race in the Champions League semi-finals last season.
However, CEO Oliver Mintzlaff condemned the competition.
“We are supporters of sports competition,” he said. “And sports competition in professional football means the fight to get a position on the domestic table that allows the team to participate in international competition.
“For us, changing this is absolutely out of the question. We reject any plan to set up a Super League. “
Zenit St. Petersburg
Reports in Russia claimed that Zenit was approached to become a founding member, but chose to reject it.
It seems that this is due to the fact that they are sponsored by Gazprom, a company that has sponsored the Champions League for several years.