CLUBS PLOT EUROPEAN BREAKAWAY
leaked documents which claim they held talks with six of the Continent’s other big guns about forming the lucrative elite competition.
Whistleblowing website Football Leaks alleges they are Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Paris Saint-germain and AC Milan.
According to the documents, five more – Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Marseille, Inter Milan and Roma – would be invited to make up a 16-club league due to launch in the 2021-22 season. Two more could be added from Portugal, Russia, Holland or Turkey. The league would run for 34 weeks, with matches on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
According to the leaked information, the 11 founding members would not be at risk of relegation and are guaranteed membership for 20 years, protecting their financial interests.
Charlie Stillitano, chairman of Relevent Sports, which puts on the International Champions Cup featuring many of Europe’s top sides, is said to be behind the breakaway league and believes clubs involved could achieve annual revenues of “£440million-plus”, a huge hike on sums they currently generate.
Clubs would have a stake in the competition and it is claimed Real Madrid’s would potentially be the highest with 18.77 per cent, then Barcelona (17.61) and United (12.58).
It would spell the end of the Champions League, with UEFA unable to sell money-spinning global TV rights without the biggest names in European football.
Dortmund chief executive Hansjoachim Watzke is alleged to have said he believed “a few of Europe’s large clubs are clearly working on it”.
There is no suggestion clubs involved would be forced to leave their domestic leagues. Liverpool’s response to the claims was: “The club won’t be offering any comment on alleged leaked information published today.” United declined to comment.