Greed of the rich unites the football world

The announced European Super League, backed by a dozen elite clubs with a combined valuation of over 34 billion dollars, has thrown the world’s most popular team sport into a state of war. The very principles of the game are shaking to their foundations.

Since the beginning of the week, the vast majority of the football world has been fiercely protesting against the Super League project. A closed competition reserved for the elite has caused an earthquake across the entire football spectrum. So, has football truly scored an own goal? And would this new multi-billion competition really be entirely negative? Behind the creation of the Super League stand two powerful officials: Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez and Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli.

To launch the revolutionary project, the masterminds secured a substantial financial package from the leading American investment bank JP Morgan—specifically, 4 billion dollars. Of that, 3.5 billion would go directly into the league’s fund to be distributed as prize money to the participating clubs. The remaining half-billion would cover additional payments and related expenses. It’s clear that the “wind is blowing” from the United States. English clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United have American owners, and professional leagues in the US have long operated under a closed system with no promotion or relegation. Moreover, over time, the Super League might also open up to small private investors.

"The desire to create a separate competition for the biggest and wealthiest clubs has been smoldering for years. It's a long-term, parallel process, but I can’t recall any similarly serious event that triggered such a unanimous, critical, and outright negative reaction across the world," sports analyst Jozef Tokos told Economic Daily. The attempt by the dozen superclubs—whose combined value, according to a recent Forbes ranking, is estimated at $34.362 billion—has caught the attention not only of regular fans but also of top political figures. "This project has, unintentionally, united UEFA, FIFA, national federations—and even politicians. And not just any politicians. Both Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron commented on it on the same day. So, it’s clearly an event that goes beyond sport itself," Tokos pointed out.

In any case, Florentino Pérez firmly rejects any accusations that the super-rich clubs have violated the spirit of football or trampled its basic principles. On the contrary, according to Pérez, football needs a new, modern appearance—one that the Super League aims to offer. "Football has to keep up and adapt. It's the only global sport, and we need to ask ourselves why people under 24 are losing interest. Too many matches lack quality, and other platforms are offering more entertainment," Pérez was quoted as saying by AFP. According to the Real Madrid president, the group of Europe’s top clubs came together to make football exciting again.

But the numbers speak for themselves. And it’s hard to believe that tough and successful businessmen like Pérez and Agnelli are motivated primarily by altruism. For the record, according to analysts from the Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo, the Champions League earned about €2 billion in television rights revenue between 2018 and 2021. The Super League could earn a similar amount for its TV content—but with one key difference: while the Champions League features 32 teams, the Super League would only include 20. This means each team would receive a larger share of the pie. The situation is evolving almost daily. But the dark scenario can still be reversed. "The key will be how national leagues, especially the English Premier League, handle it. If players are threatened with exclusion from the World Cup or Euros, and if the six clubs are expelled from the Premier League, then I believe the Super League project would not go through," Tokos concluded.