With the latest tranche of football leaks, one depressing (yet unsurprising) revelation was that a bunch of Europe's most affluent clubs were planning to break away and form a European Super League, separate from domestic and European competition.
English sides Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City were in the breakaway group along with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Milan with Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Marseille, Internazionale and Roma featuring as “initial guests”.
The whole proposal is designed to get the biggest clubs in Europe even wealthier, but if the idea did come to fruition then it could spell disaster for international and domestic competition.
So we here at Balls have decided to compile a list of reasons a European Super League would be a total shitshow.
13 Reasons A 'European Super League' Would Be A Big Ball Of Shite
1. No more Cillian Sheridans
Irish players have enough trouble trying to get into Champions League teams, and with a European Super League as the new standard for measuring the world's best, we'd stand even less of a chance of being involved.
2. No Derbies
Well, apart from Madrid, Manchester, London and Milan. Apart from the best derbies, but what about Liverpool/Everton, Dortmund/Schalke etc. Get ready for a load of 'Battle of Britain' headlines.
3. Less games
With an initial 16 teams mooted for this league, and under the presumption that they will play one another both home and away, that means there will only be 32 games in a season.
4. More of the same games
The great thing about the Champions League is that the best in Europe test themselves every now and again. With this proposal they'll be playing each other every week, which will get very old very quickly.
5. It will probably mean that Spurs will win the Premier League
And who wants that? In any case, it would be a hollow victory.
6. It would be more expensive
Who's to say that the European Super League would not come in the form of yet another subscription service.
7. Best players would be gone from World Cup
Gianni Infantino has threatened to ban players who play in the super league from representing their national teams which means that the best footballers in the world would not get to turn out for their country.
8. The 'European Super League' is a shite name
Sounds like a bad comic book.
9. The founding members can't get relegated FOR 20 YEARS
Yup, any artifice of fairness is neutralised when the founding members are unable to get relegated from the league for 20 years.
10. Every domestic league would be devalued
Leicester's achievement in 2016 would be a lot less magical they had won the league without the big guns to overcome.
11. Liverpool's PL title hunt would go on indefinitely
Could you imagine the b*ntz if Liverpool left the Premier League before they managed to win it again?
12. There would be no more pointless arguments about which league is the best
And these conversations are what make up football.
13. There would be no doubles or trebles
The holy trinity of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup would be no more.
