This idea of a European Super League just won’t go away.
It has emerged that representatives of the Premier League’s biggest five clubs met in London on Tuesday to discuss breaking away from the English top flight.
Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis, City’s chief executive Ferran Soriano and Liverpool’s Ian Ayre were all snapped by the Sun leaving the Dorchester Hotel.
The five powerful football men were meeting Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, who is keen to throw his $4billion fortune behind a European Super League.
The formation of such a tournament would effectively spell the end of the Champions League and greatly reduce the attractiveness of the Premier League.
The exercise in greed and self-interest obviously excluded the top two teams in the Premier League, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, who lead the top flight despite lacking the kind of financial might and marketability that attracts charmers such as Ross.
The surprising surge from Leicester and Spurs will most likely see three of England’s “Big Five” miss out on the Champions League gravy train next season.
However Ross’s proposals would mean that Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool will never again be on the outside looking in, as they join the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG in a closed shop.
Get rid of all those pesky, plucky competitors and pull up the drawbridge – that’s what high-end sport is all about.
