Bayern insist they won’t sign up

CHAMPIONS League holders Bayern Munich and Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund will not join the breakaway Europan Super League, while Porto have rejected any offer to be involved.

Clubs from England, Spain and Italy have signed up to the plans, while no German or French sides have yet to be associated with the breakaway.

Dortmund said they were committed to the European Club Association along with Bayern.

‘The board members of the ECA came together for a virtual meeting on Sunday evening, where it was agreed the board’s decision from last Friday still stands,’ Dortmund chief executive officer Hans-Joachim Watzke said in a statement.

‘This decision dictates that all clubs wish to implement the proposed reforms to the Champions League. The ECA board members took a clear stance in rejecting plans for the establishment of a Super League.

‘Both German clubs on the ECA board, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, shared exactly the same stance throughout all discussions.’

Former Champions League winners Porto have also distanced themselves from the breakaway competition after speculation they could be one of three further founding clubs.

Club president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa said: ‘We cannot participate in anything that’s against the rules.

‘We are in the Champions League and we hope to continue to be there for many years.’

Meanwhile, sources close to Paris Saint-Germain – finalists last term and in the semi-finals this – say their owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi was ‘pushed and pushed and pushed’ to join as a founder member but held firm.