Super League sees more teams retreat
MADRID — While trying to at least keep the idea of the Super League alive, more of the founding members of the controversial breakaway competition abandoned the project Wednesday.
The moves by Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid came a day after the six Premier League clubs involved in the new competition made it unfeasible by dropping out, leaving Spanish powerhouses Real Madrid and Barcelona as the only teams still officially in it.
While some English clubs apologized to their fans while pulling back Tuesday, the teams that dropped out Wednesday admitted defeat but tried to show they still believe in the project.
“While Juventus remains convinced of the soundness of the project’s sport, commercial and legal premises, it believes that at present there are limited chances that the project be completed in the form originally conceived,” the Italian club said. “Juventus remains committed to pursuing the creation of long-term value for the Company and the entire football industry.”
English clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham previously deserted plans for the largely-closed competition amid escalating backlash from their supporters and warnings from the government that legislation could be introduced to thwart them.
Still, AC Milan said the “voices and the concerns of fans around the world have clearly been expressed” but the club “will continue to work hard to deliver a sustainable model” for soccer.
“We accepted the invitation to participate in the Super League project with the genuine intention to deliver the best possible European competition for football fans around the world and in the best interest of the club and our own fans,” the Italian club said. “Change is not always easy, but evolution is necessary for progress, and the structures of European football have evolved and changed over the decades.”
The Super League project was overseen by Real Madrid President Florentino Perez, who promoted it as a way to “save soccer” and the clubs struggling financially amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Neither Madrid nor Barcelona commented after the rest of the clubs abandoned the project. There was some internal pressure on the Catalan club, however, after outspoken captain Gerard Pique made his view clear.
“Football belongs to the fans. Today more than ever,” he wrote on Twitter early Wednesday.
Barcelona Coach Ronald Koeman avoided the subject but said he “agreed with” Pique’s tweet.
The Spanish league planned to continue its campaign against the Super League with various actions and messages.
On Monday, UEFA threatened to ban players from the participating teams from playing in this year’s European Championship and next year’s World Cup. But a Madrid court later issued a preliminary ruling stopping UEFA, FIFA and its members from acting against the creation of the new league.
Atletico said its decision was made after the club’s board of directors met Wednesday.
The Spanish team said it “decided to formally communicate the Super League and the rest of the founding clubs its decision not to formalize its participation in the project.”
Atletico said the “circumstances” that allowed it to join the new league Monday “no longer exist today.”
Atletico fans had been expected to stage a protest before the home match against Huesca in the Spanish league today.
The Super League was intended to be a 20-team competition with 15 founding members guaranteed a spot every season and five other teams rotating in and out. The lack of relegation for the founding members raised concerns about the consequences for smaller clubs in the domestic leagues around the continent.