By Andrew Warshaw
March 3 – The spectre of a breakaway European super league has been rekindled after reports that secret talks had taken place on a new closed-shop competition featuring the Continent’s biggest clubs.
According to Britain’s Sun newspaper, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal attended discussions to break away from the Premier League and join the proposed elite tournament, posing a huge threat to the Champions League and UEFA.
The Sun said the clubs held talks in London with representatives of American billionaire Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins NFL franchise.
Ross and his Relevent Sports company organise the close-season International Champions Cup (ICC) friendly tournament played in the United States, China and Australia which features local teams and high-profile European clubs.
In a statement, Arsenal were quick to downplay the reported plan. “We are firmly opposed to any kind of breakaway,” an Arsenal spokesman said. “We entirely support the current structure, the Premier League as it is and the Champions League as it is.”
“Not Arsenal, nor any clubs at the meeting, are seeking changes to the Premier League and European landscape and no conversations surrounding displacing the Premier League or starting a European super league took place,” added the spokesman.
Speculation has been rife for years that Europe’s biggest clubs, some of whom regularly miss out on Champions League football, might be seduced by a lucrative invite-only competition. Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea could all fail to make Europe’s premier tournament next season with Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur currently filling the top two slots in the Premier League ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City.
European Club Association chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has suggested top clubs should get direct entry into the Champions League rather than having to qualify.
Rummenigge, chief executive of Bayern Munich, told a German newspaper in January that a European league was a possibility but has since backed away from the idea.
UEFA, whose executive committee are meeting tomorrow, responded to the latest reports by declaring the format of its club competitions was under constant review including television rights for the 2018-21 seasons. But it seems certain to resist the creation of a Super League.
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