Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has insisted that fans will ‘never let’ a European Super League happen, regardless of whether there are fresh attempts to launch one in the future.
In April 2021, European football was rocked when 12 clubs initially signed up to the ill-fated venture, which proposed an elite competition that guaranteed participation for the biggest teams, unlike the Champions League which rightly requires clubs to qualify via domestic leagues.
The uproar from fans in particular was enormous, quickly leading to nine of those 12 founder members withdrawing and distancing themselves from the idea.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez was set to head up the new competition as chairman, with the top officials at Juventus, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal in place as vice-chairmen.
But Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, AC Milan, Inter and Atletico Madrid all pulled out within a matter of days.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have doggedly refused to abandon the idea and a court in Madrid even protected the trio from being sanctioned by UEFA – that case is soon due a ruling at the European Court of Justice.
PSG and Bayern Munich were the two notable giants not among the 12 Super League founders.
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The idea ultimately showed a lack of understanding from the top brass about what football fans actually want and Al-Khelaifi is confident it will never get off the ground.
“The fans will never let it happen,” he told Sky News.
“I’m not really worried about the [court] decision. Even I think [the court] will vote in our favour against [the Super League]. But if not, it will not change anything. Nobody will join [Real, Barcelona and Juventus]. Nobody will go to the stadium, fans. Nobody will organise anything.”
“Who is going to play? Three of them? Fantastic Super League.”
Credit: 90min.com
