“What would Manchester United argue: did we create football or did Leicester?”
A US sports executive who held talks with the ‘Big Five’ Premier League teams about breaking away from the traditional Champions League and forming a European Super League thinks that teams like Leicester cheapen the value of such competitions.
Charlie Stillitano argues that there is much more money to be made if the tournament is more marketable with the inclusion of world football’s biggest clubs.
At the moment, neither Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool stand to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season and they were among the five clubs who spoke with Stillitano about this year’s International Champions Cup (ICC), an annual pre-season friendly tournament – they also discussed restructuring the Champions League.
The Relevant Sports chairman thinks there needs to be room for clubs like United in these competitions all the time. That it should be set, rather than based on form.
“What would Manchester United argue: did we create soccer or did Leicester create?” he spoke to US radio station, SiriusXM.
“Let’s call it the money pot created by soccer and the fandom around the world. Who has had more of an integral role, Manchester United or Leicester? It’s a wonderful, wonderful story – but you could see it from Manchester United’s point of view, too.
“Maybe that is absolutely spectacular unless you are a Manchester United fan, Liverpool fan, or a Chelsea fan.
“I guess they don’t have a birthright to be in it every year but it’s the age-old argument: US sports franchises versus what they have in Europe. There are wonderful, wonderful, wonderful elements to relegation and promotion and there are good arguments for a closed system.”
As it is, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City aren’t only headed for the Champions League, but they are vying for the title and the football world has been reborn because of it.
The money world? Not so much.
“This is going to sound arrogant and it’s the furthest thing from it … but suddenly when you see the teams we have this summer in the ICC you are going to shake your head and say, ‘Isn’t that the Champions League?'” Stillitano said. “No, the Champions League is PSV and Ghent.
“I could make a lot more money, I can be a lot more visible, I can help my sponsors out but right now I am locked into doing certain things that are really historic.”
Yeah, it does sound arrogant.
