Dein: Super League was pure greed
DAVID DEIN is the football visionary who was the brains behind the forming of the Premier League.
The global phenomenon has transformed the face of English football and turned it into a multi-billion euro worldwide success.
But when news broke about a clandestine plot to form the European Super League, Dein was angered by the sheer “greed” of the clubs.
The fact that his beloved Arsenal were involved made him even more upset. Sadly,
Dein, now 79, fears the threat has not gone away, with Real Madrid, Juventus and Barcelona still pursuing a legal battle.
Worryingly, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly last week refused to rule it out completely.
Former Arsenal vicechairman Dein said: “The Super League was shocking. There’s a play in the West End called The Play That Went Wrong and that’s what I call the ESL. ‘The ESL that went wrong’. The thought of a sterile league with no promotion or relegation.
Works
“We don’t want teams being judged on history. Being Man United or AC Milan and being catapulted into the Super League. That’s not the way sport works. It’s 11 versus 11. That’s where you start, a level playing field.
“The Super League is the Champions League. But the G word here is greed. There is a worry that it will come back because the three clubs are still fighting UEFA.
“The fans were so vociferous and it was a combination of their views, the press and the (British) Prime Minister threatening to ‘drop a legislative bomb on it’ that really must have scared the English clubs off.”
When the Premier League was formed, Arsenal’s annual turnover was €1.75m-a-year. The TV deal in 1986 was worth a total of €8m. Now it is worth €6bn with overseas rights almost doubling that figure.
“I was on a plane the other day and I switched on the TV and there was Liverpool v Newcastle on a Turkish Airlines flight 30,000 feet up,” said Dein. “That tells you the demand. All around the world. Watched in 200 countries.
“The Premier League is the fastest train on the track and we’ve got to keep it going. The fact it has 1.3 billion viewers around the world and goes out to 200 different territories tells its own story.”
It is a shame for English football that someone who lives and breathes the game, was at the heart of Arsenal’s glory years under Arsene Wenger and a former FA vice-chairman, is no longer directly in football.
Warrant
The day he was ousted by Arsenal — he reels off the date and time, 5pm April 18, 2007 — was, he says, his “death warrant” and despite offers from Newcastle, Barcelona and Liverpool he refused to work for anyone else.
Wenger nearly quit after that and the pain haunts them both even if Dein still goes to every Emirates game.
“Arsenal have struggled since Arsene leaving, there’s a bit of renaissance and something good is going on,” said Dein. “But in my day, Arsene was fighting for one and two with Man United. It was never in my agenda to come fourth. I wanted to win the title.
“I’ve never understood why Arsene was good enough for FIFA, to be head of Global Football Development, but wasn’t good enough for Arsenal in some capacity.
“That was a big mistake by the board.
“Arsene has been bruised the way he was treated and not dissimilar to me. He was there for 22 years, I was there for 24.”