UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin used the phrase “football is not for sale” in response to plans to form the European Super League (ESL). The plan to form the European Super League emerged in April 2021 and was initiated by 12 elite European clubs.
The 12 ESL initiator clubs are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus. The 12 clubs’ desire to form ESL then received opposition from UEFA as the parent of European football.
European media then called the European Super League a breakaway league, aka a rival league. However, the initial ESL project was only half-life. Not long after, the ESL plan collapsed with the originating clubs withdrawing.
Even so, ESL’s plans are not completely dead with Real Madrid and Barcelona still trying to revive the competition. Previously, A22 Sports Management, which is the promoter of the European Super League project, has also offered a new concept. Bernd Reichart as Chief Executive of A22 voiced the idea of ESL being attended by 60-80 teams with divisions, no permanent members, and each team playing at least 14 matches per season.
Recently, plans regarding the European Super League have emerged again after the publication of the decision of the European Union Court, Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The CJEU on Thursday (21/12/2023) said that FIFA and UEFA’s actions preventing the formation of ESL were a form of conflict with European Union competition laws.
UEFA then responded by saying that the CJEU’s decision did not mean giving the green light for the formation of the European Super League. “This decision does not signal an endorsement or validation of the so-called Super League. It further underlines pre-existing deficiencies in UEFA’s pre-authorization framework, a technical aspect which was acknowledged and addressed in June 2022.”
“UEFA remains steadfast in its commitment to upholding the European football pyramid, ensuring that it continues to serve the interests of wider society,” said UEFA’s official statement. Meanwhile, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin does not want to bother with plans to form a European Super League.
“We will not try to stop them. They can create whatever they want,” said Ceferin. “I hope they start the highest competition as soon as possible, with two clubs. Football is not for sale,” he stressed.
Regarding plans for the European Super League, five European clubs, including those who were the initiators, have expressed their stance against the competition. To date, the five clubs that have officially rejected ESL are Manchester United, Sevilla, Bayern Munich, Valencia and Atletico Madrid.
“It is clear that the door to the Super League at FC Bayern remains closed. Such a competition would be an attack on the importance of domestic leagues and European football,” said Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen
