The European Super League two years on: Is it still an option?

No promotion, no relegation. Just a closed shop for Europe’s elite clubs. And two years on, the European Super League has not totally gone away yet. On April 21st, 2021, the story broke and took even the most experienced figures in the sport by great surprise.

What was the European Super League?

The Super League was a proposed invite-only, ‘closed shop’ league that would include some of the sport’s biggest clubs, with no promotion or threat of relegation.

Founded by Andrea Agnelli, who has previously served as chairman of Italian giants Juventus, the plans were to have 12 teams in the league who were guaranteed spots season after season, along with an addition three teams that would change depending on other factors that were never made clear.

The teams involved with the European Super League were as follows:

England

**-**Manchester United

- Liverpool

- Manchester City

- Chelsea

- Arsenal

- Tottenham Hotspur

Spain

- Real Madrid

- FC Barcelona

- Atletico Madrid

Italy

- Juventus

- Inter

- Milan

The plans for the league are thought to have started way back in 2009, with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez stating that the Champions League, Europe’s current elite cup competition run by UEFA, was ‘obsolete and problematic’ and was ‘an obstacle preventing clubs from growing their businesses and developing infrastructure’.

The idea of the Super League was that the 12 clubs would leave the Champions League competition and UEFA behind, and run their own self-regulated elite competition.

The reaction to the proposals really depended on what country you were listening to. In England, there was uproar. Not only did the wider population of football fans find the concept abhorrent, but fans of the specific clubs involved felt a sense of betrayal