Barcelona chief claims European Super League will start in 2025, without English teams
Barcelona president Joan Laporta reckons the European Super League will start in just two years time, even if there isn't any Premier League teams.
Back in April 2021, England's 'big six,' along with several of Europe's biggest clubs, decided that they were going to break away from UEFA and set up their own competition.
Instantly fans hated the idea, even those who support the six English teams who were going to be in the tournament, and fans protested outside grounds, even during Covid lockdowns.
The dream of the clubs to make yet more money seemed to be over pretty quickly though, with the Premier League sides pulling out one-by-one, with most of the Europeans following suit.
Advert
Eventually only Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus were left out of the original 16 teams who wanted to breakaway, and they actually remain.
The group are currently involved in legal wranglings with UEFA, with a recent ruling going in the European governing body's favour, and allowing them to ban any team or player who attempt a breakaway.
Despite that, Laporta is adamant that the whole thing is going to go ahead in 2025, and thinks that sides from England could still join in eventually.
"I think there will be a Super League," he told Cadena SER.
"I would not have entered into this project if it was not an open competition and it was accepted by Real Madrid, Juventus and other clubs that have not yet shown their faces but are very interested in this competition."
Speaking about the current appeals to the recent court ruling, he added, "[The Super League] will be a reality in 2025, if the resolution is favourable.
"If the ruling, which I believe will not happen because what is being called into question is the defence of free competition in the framework of the EU, and I believe that this will be won."
On the possibility of English teams taking part, he continued, "In a first step, what we will have is a European competition that will compete with the Premier League. I don’t think the English teams are going to enter in the first step.
"We want them to enter and there is a lot of communication with the English clubs Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham. All these clubs, most of which are for sale and some have already been sold, are interested.
"The state leagues would be maintained and this will end up with a merger between the European Super League and the Premier [League]."
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has previously also claimed that the teams involved have 'won,' saying that the teams who backed are out are still binded to the competition by their contracts.
Perez said that the Premier League teams had been 'coerced' into backing out and that 'no one' could do anything about the Super League.
The 75-year-old was right at the forefront of the whole project when it was first announced, saying that they were going to 'save football.'
Despite his age, Perez was going around telling everyone that young people didn't want to watch 90 minutes of football any more.
Topics: Premier League, European Super League, Joan Laporta, Real Madrid, Juventus, FC Barcelona
Ryan Sidle