PREMIER LEAGUE clubs agreeing to join a new European Super League were in line for a £310million payment, it has been claimed.
New leaked documents have emerged amid Fifa’s attempt to kill off the proposal.
According to The Times, six English clubs were being eyed up as founder members of the Super League.
This is most likely to have been the ‘Big Six’ of Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal – even though the latter two teams are currently placed eighth and tenth respectively.
A huge £3.1billion fund was being formulated by the competition’s organisers, which was to be split between the 15 founder clubs.
The payment, ranging from £89m to £310m, was reportedly described as an ‘infrastructure grant’ to spend on stadiums, training facilities and account for lost pandemic revenue.
Liverpool, United, AC Milan and Real Madrid have been named as clubs involved in planning the Super League, with the Spanish giants’ president Florentino Perez a vocal advocate.
Barcelona are one club who have already signed up for proposals, according to former chief Josep Maria Bartomeu.
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Any club or player involved in such a competition would not be allowed to participate in any FIFA competition.
Fifa Statement
Along with the 15 founder teams, including Italian, Spanish, German and French teams, five other sides would reportedly have qualified for the Super League.
Two groups of ten teams would play out the first round before two-legged quarter-finals and semi-finals, and then a final on neutral ground.
The tournament was expected to be funded by TV rights money, with clubs also told they can sell some matches on their own streaming services.
The leak shows plans for participants to still play in domestic leagues.
But Fifa and the six intercontinental federations released a strongly-worded statement on Wednesday banning players and clubs in a Super League from their competitions.
The statement said: “In light of recent media speculation about the creation of a closed European ‘Super League’ by some European clubs.
“FIFA and the six confederations once again would like to reiterate and strongly emphasise that such a competition would not be recognised by either FIFA or the respective confederation.
“Any club or player involved in such a competition would as a consequence not be allowed to participate in any competition organised by FIFA or their respective confederation.”
Uefa hope to dissuade clubs looking towards a Super League with a shake-up of the Champions League, as well as a bulked-up Club World Cup.
A new Swiss-style format for Europe’s top club competition is set to arrive in 2024, while the Europa Conference League starts next season.
