European Super League reactions

PARIS: Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan have announced plans for a breakaway European Super League.

Here, AFP Sport takes a look at some of the reaction to the news:

“It is our task to protect the European sport model, so if some elect to go their own way then they must live with the consequences of their choices. They are responsible for their choices.” – FIFA president Gianni Infantino

“It’s not a sport when success is already guaranteed, it’s not a sport if it doesn’t matter if you lose.” – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola

“The clubs concerned will be banned from playing in any other competition at domestic, European or world level, and their players could be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams.” – UEFA threatened to ban teams from other European competitions

“I cannot stress more strongly how everyone is united against this disgraceful, self-serving proposal, fuelled by greed above all else.” – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin

“There’s still time to change your mind. Everyone makes mistakes… Come to your senses. Not out of love for football because I imagine some of you don’t have much of that.” – Ceferin implores owners to ditch the plans

“Fans of any club in England and across Europe can currently dream that their team may climb to the top and play against the best. We believe that the concept of a European Super League would destroy this dream.” – English Premier League

“The newly proposed top European competition is nothing more than a selfish, egotistical proposal designed to further enrich the already super rich.” – Spanish La Liga

“We have to think about why 16-24 year-olds are no longer interested in football. There are poor quality matches and there are other platforms for entertainment. Football has to change.” – Real Madrid president and new Super League president Florentino Perez

“I can only say my personal opinion, I don’t like it and hopefully it doesn’t happen.” – Liverpool midfielder James Milner speaks out against the plans of his own club

“I feel responsible for the team, for the club and for the relationship we have with our fans. It’s a very tough time I’m sure, but I will try to help to sort it somehow.” – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp

“We are confident that this new 20-team competition will capture the imaginations of billions of football fans around the world and mark the start of an exciting new chapter in the game of football.” – AC Milan CEO Ivan Gazidis

“This is a question for one person: the president. Everyone has their opinion on it, but I’m not here to talk about this. I’m here to talk about La Liga, the Champions League… The rest is not my job.” – Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane

“We have come together at this critical moment, enabling European competition to be transformed, putting the game we love on a sustainable footing for the long-term future, substantially increasing solidarity, and giving fans and amateur players a regular flow of headline fixtures that will feed their passion for the game while providing them with engaging role models.” – Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli

“The clubs and their junior teams should be excluded from all competitions, until they have a second thought for their many supporters who made them into the giants of world football.” – DFB president Fritz Keller

“Paris Saint-Germain holds the firm belief that football is a game for everyone. I have been consistent on this since the very beginning. As a football club, we are a family and a community; whose fabric is our fans – I believe we shouldn’t forget this.” – Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi

“Dreams can’t be buy (bought).” – Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes

“He (UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson) was clear that no action is off the table and the government is exploring every possibility, including legislative options, to ensure these proposals are stopped.” – Downing Street

“We will put everything on the table to prevent this from happening.” – UK culture and sports secretary Oliver Dowden

“It’s the death of football… Football is based on the concept of competitive balance, sporting competition and qualifying on merit. What is the point of going to watch Arsenal play Everton this Friday if we know they’ve already qualified for a so-called Super League next year?” – Tim Payton, head of the Arsenal Supporters Trust, to AFP

“We need football to be for everyone. We need football to be fair and we need competitions based on merit. Unless we protect these values the game we love is in danger.” – David Beckham, who played for three of the Super League clubs

“The so-called ‘SuperLeague’ is anything but ‘super’. This greedy and callous move would spell disaster for our grassroots, for women’s football and the wider football community, only to serve self-interested owners who stopped caring about their fans long ago and have complete disregard for sporting merit. Tragic.” – Former Barcelona and Real Madrid player Luis Figo

“This preposterous arrogance is not wanted anywhere in football outside of the clubs that have drafted this plan.” – Premier League club Everton

“These proposals are an attack on sporting integrity, undermine competition, and ignore those supporters, and those of the thousands of clubs and millions of players, from the Premier League to Sunday League.” – English top-flight side West Ham

“I love football and I cannot remain silent about this, I believe in an improved Champions League, but not in the rich stealing what the people created, which is nothing other than the most beautiful sport on the planet.” – Paris Saint-Germain’s Spain midfielder Ander Herrera

AFP