Reactions, After Clubs Officially Announce European Super League Plans

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham have agreed to join a breakaway European Super League.

The new format has been put forward as a rival to the UEFA Champions League, but not as a replacement to domestic leagues.

The six Premier League clubs will be joined by AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid. Three more clubs could join for the inaugural season which will commence “as soon as practicable”.

The Premier League, and the organisation’s CEO Richard Masters, have condemned the European Super League concept, and Masters has written to all 20 clubs to indicate the League’s opposition to the project.

Arsenal vs Fulham edited scaled — Arsenal remain 9th (46pts) after a 1-1 home draw with Fulham with just 6 games to go

“We do not and cannot support such a concept,” Masters’ memo read.

Under Premier League rules, which all clubs sign up to, a club needs “prior written approval” from the Premier League Board to enter another competition not including the Champions League, Europa League, EFL Cup, FA Cup, Community Shield, or competitions sanctioned by the county association of which it is a member.

Here are other reactions:

Sky Sports’ Roy Keane:

“It comes down to money, greed, it doesn’t sound good. Let’s hope it’s stopped in its tracks because it’s pure greed. We talk about the big clubs, Bayern Munich are one of the biggest in the world, at least they have made a stand, which is a start.”

In The Daily Telegraph, Jason Burt states starkly: ‘The desire for a closed-shop European Super League is purely driven by greed’ and describes the proposal as a ‘declaration of war’.

Gary Neville on Twitter: “👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 https://t.co/M7TkGujXVU pic.twitter.com/FhS9jMZAf2 / Twitter”
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 https://t.co/M7TkGujXVU pic.twitter.com/FhS9jMZAf2

Jamie Carragher on Twitter: “What an embarrassment we’ve become @LFC think of all the people who have come before us at this club who would be equally embarrassed as well. #SuperLeague https://t.co/zLxhNyeaXB / Twitter”
What an embarrassment we’ve become @LFC think of all the people who have come before us at this club who would be equally embarrassed as well. #SuperLeague https://t.co/zLxhNyeaXB

Samuel Luckhurst on Twitter: “So Leicester, relegated to English football’s third tier in 2008, have since become English champions, reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and are now in the FA Cup final. A minor antidote to news of the Gordon Gekko league. / Twitter”
So Leicester, relegated to English football’s third tier in 2008, have since become English champions, reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and are now in the FA Cup final. A minor antidote to news of the Gordon Gekko league.

Barney Ronay on Twitter: “Super League has always been inevitable. It turns out these very rich, ruthless people did not buy your club because they love heritage old stories and community sport / Twitter”
Super League has always been inevitable. It turns out these very rich, ruthless people did not buy your club because they love heritage old stories and community sport

James Olley on Twitter: “Arsenal: “More information can be found in a joint statement released by the Founding Clubs below. In the meantime, our focus is on finishing this season as strongly as possible.”Why bother? Not like it really matters if this all goes ahead. / Twitter”
Arsenal: “More information can be found in a joint statement released by the Founding Clubs below. In the meantime, our focus is on finishing this season as strongly as possible.”Why bother? Not like it really matters if this all goes ahead.

Boris Johnson on Twitter: “Plans for a European Super League would be very damaging for football and we support football authorities in taking action. They would strike at the heart of the domestic game, and will concern fans across the country. (1/2) / Twitter”
Plans for a European Super League would be very damaging for football and we support football authorities in taking action. They would strike at the heart of the domestic game, and will concern fans across the country. (1/2)

UEFA on Twitter: “UEFA, the English Football Association, the Premier League, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), LaLiga, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Lega Serie A have today released a statement.Read it in full here: 👇 / Twitter”
UEFA, the English Football Association, the Premier League, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), LaLiga, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Lega Serie A have today released a statement.Read it in full here: 👇