We have been living with the Super League for 24 hours already.
• There are 15 permanent participants in the Super League project - but we still only know about 12. Bayern and Borussia on Monday reaffirmed their commitmentChampions League and run-through tournaments. They are on the side of UEFA.
• Meanwhile, UEFA approved the change in the format of the Champions League from 2024: groups will disappear, 36 teams instead of 32, at least 10 matches for each participant.
• The Guardian rummaged through the code of the Super League website and discovered an unpublished document... The main principles and goals of the Super League are laid out there: to give fans football of the highest possible quality; large solidarity payments for non-participants in the tournament, affordable ticket prices; support for national championships ("We will continue to play championships on weekends as always."); willingness to change - including the use of technology.
• Judges in the Super League, supposedly following the example of the NBA, will explain the decisions on the microphone.
• American bank JP Morgan has confirmed funding for the Super League.
• Details from the Financial Times:
- JP Morgan has pledged € 3.25 billion to organize the Super League. This money will be shared by the participants, but it cannot be spent on transfers. These are the means to maintain the infrastructure.
- A person close to organizing the tournament claims that this money should not be treated as a “welcome bonus”. They are regarded as an advance payment for the clubs' future earnings. The entire amount provided will need to be returned to the bank if any of the clubs decides to leave the tournament.
- The Super League clubs have pledged to provide about 400 million euros in solidarity payments to teams and governing bodies in other competitions. From the Champions League, such payments are 140 million.
- The organizers of the Super League have started negotiations with broadcasters. They are looking to negotiate with companies like Amazon, Facebook, Disney, and Sky. Deals with them could increase the annual income to 4 billion euros per year. That's roughly double what the Champions League gets from TV rights.
• Author main speech of the day- UEFA President Alexander Cheferin. He harshly walked through the rebellious clubs, threatened to ban their players in national team tournaments, and went personal. Čeferin called Juventus President Andrea Agnelli “a major disappointment” (“I've never seen a man who has lied so many times”). Ed Woodward of Manchester United also got it.
• Until the evening of Florentino Perez's airing, we did not hear anything new from the founding bosses of the Super League - they remained silent. The coaches, Thomas Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp, had to talk. Tuchel was very diplomatic at the pre-match press conference, and his words were vague.
Klopp was more specific. Before the match against Leeds in the Premier League, he assured that he did not change his mind about the Super League (“I hope there will be no Super League. Football has a great product in the form of the Champions League and the Europa League,” Jurgen said from 2019).
“My opinion has not changed. I first heard about this yesterday. I tried to prepare for a difficult game. We got some information, but not much. It's hard. People are not happy, I understand. I can't say more becausemWe do not participate with the players in this process. We - neither me nor the players - knew nothing about it... Let's see what it will lead to, ”explained the German.
Klopp keeps his word against the Super League, Leeds came out in "Earn" jerseys: protest in the Premier League
• According to The Athletic, all Liverpool employees (including Klopp and the footballers) were informed of their Super League membership ex post facto. After all the world's media announced the new tournament, an email came from Executive Director Billy Hogan with clarification.
• The Athletic also writes that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer found out about Manchester United joining the Super League just before Sunday's match with Burnley. Woodward broke the news following the release of the starting lineups.
“The guys are not happy. They feel like the club hasn't protected and informed them. It seems to them that the club simply did not bother to bring them up to date and did not discuss with the players the decisions that affect the course of their careers, ”a source in the United dressing room conveys the mood.
• Bruno Fernandes on Instagram made it clear that he was not happy... He repost Wolverhampton player Daniel Podense on the Champions League, captioning "Dreams can't be bought."
• During the day, the players were reluctant to speak out. The most notable speakers were Dejan Lovren (“The day football stopped being football and turned into soccer”) andAnder Herrera...
• “I can only express my opinion and I don’t like it, I hope it will not happen” - and this is always direct James Milner after the match against Leeds.
• The week will definitely be interesting. On FridayUEFA will consider an exceptionthe clubs participating in the Super League from the Champions League (Real Madrid, Man City and Chelsea remained among the semifinalists). Two possible scenarios: 1. PSG will be named the winner (this option is unlikely); 2. Bavaria, Borussia and Porto, who were eliminated in the quarterfinals, will be returned to the tournament.
• An insider from The Telegraph journalist Matt Lowe: Chelsea and Man City were not the driving force behind the Super League negotiations. Shortly before the final decision on the launch, they were given a choice - either to enter the project, or to refuse to participate.
• The day concluded with the appearance of Real Madrid president and Superleague chairman Florentino Perez in the El Chiringuito program.
It explained the motives going on: “The Super League will help us reduce the losses we have suffered from the pandemic. We must find an opportunity to earn more by playing more big matches... There was no conspiracy, the big clubs in Italy, England and Spain had to do something about the current unfavorable situation. Real Madrid alone have lost 400 million euros this season. [...] Television must change. We need to analyze why people between the ages of 16 and 24 are no longer interested in football. Only a small number of matches attracted attention due to the interest in other platforms. And in our understanding, something needs to be changed. "
• And from Perez: Sevilla can play in the Super League too. Five teams will come out on a sporting basis. This is an open tournament, not a closed one. We believe in the sporting principle and that teams will fight to get into the tournament. "
• Real Madrid and other Super League clubs will not be excluded from the 2020/21 Champions League. This will not happen, the law protects us. It's impossible".
• “Nobody understands the new Champions League format. I am sure that this is not enough to save football ”.
• Perez also stated that PSG have not yet been invited to the Super League.