As if the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t wreak enough havoc on our beautiful game, the announcement of the European Super League nearly brought our game crashing down in a totally different way.
It was the audacity of it, more than anything, that drove supporters to the streets to protest.
After being forced to watch games behind closed doors for more than a year, the announcement that certain “elite” clubs were going to break away and form their own league was the straw that broke the camel’s back for everyday punters.
So, with the European Super League shelved (for now), here are five lessons that we have learned from the fiasco that almost brought European soccer to its knees.
Soccer is nothing without fans
As if anybody needed reminding, the beautiful game of soccer is nothing without fans. Legendary Scottish manager Jock Stein famously said:
“Without fans who pay at the turnstile, football is nothing.”
Soccer fans are the life and soul of communities around the world. Traditionally a working-class game, people would pack the terraces after a busy week at work and get passionately behind their team, no matter how poorly they performed.
The fact that some of Europe’s wealthiest business people decided that the Super League was required – without any buy-in from the fans – was their first and biggest mistake.
Fans from Milan to Marseille were outraged by the proposal and took to the streets to showcase their displeasure. No matter what the founders might tell you, the real reason that the European Super League failed was that the fans didn’t want it.
There’s nothing more to it.
Immorality fuelled fans’ outrage
Given that soccer teams around the world are owned by shady figures with questionable morals, the fact that immorality played such an important role in the European Super League outrage was a little jarring, if not surprising.
Fans balked at the idea of the wealthy enriching themselves even further and questioned how players could possibly want or need any more money than they are already getting paid.
The apathy of soccer fans was directed to the likes of Perez and Agnelli, who orchestrated the idea, but they even directed their anger at players and managers who were hesitant to call the Super League out for what it was: a farce.
In the end, the fans won. But has it really changed anything? The amount of money players are getting paid in Europe to play soccer is truly staggering. While most fans are okay with this, the European Super League was clearly a step too far.
The blame game was enlightening
After the withdrawal of the so-called founding clubs of the Super League, the blame game started almost immediately. Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli blamed its collapse on Brexit of all things, while Real Madrid’s Florentino Perez essentially accused everyone bar himself for getting cold feet.
Representatives of the Super League then started blaming UEFA and FIFA for not letting them break away, citing a breach of EU competition laws as justification for their outrage. The founders were so convinced that the league’s failure was because of UEFA and FIFA that they filed a complaint with the EU Court of Justice.
The fact that nobody admitted that the whole thing was just a preposterous misreading of the room by Europe’s biggest clubs enraged fans even more. And the fact that apologies weren’t forthcoming in the immediate aftermath further fuelled the animosity that many were feeling towards the biggest clubs in the business.
Real Madrid don’t always get their own way
Anyone who is a fan of soccer will be acutely aware that Real Madrid always seem to get their own way. If they want a player to join their team, they pay whatever is required to get them. Just look at the likes of Ronaldo, Beckham, Figo, Zidane, et al., and you will understand the point.
The fact that Kylian Mbappe chose to stay at PSG this summer really upset the Real Madrid applecart.
One of the reasons for the control that Real Madrid exert over European soccer is a direct result of their President’s profile and wealth – Florentino Perez. A billionaire with a dodgy moral compass, Perez was the driving force behind the European Super League.
He actually said that Real and other clubs needed the Super League “to survive.” He also fervently believed that it would be good for the game.
The fact that his plans spectacularly backfired led many of us to feel as if we had finally got one over on Perez and Los Blancos. Still, he could have the last laugh.
It’s not over
Somewhat ominously, Florentino Perez has continued talking about the European Super League as if it’s an ongoing project. He seems unmoved by the fact that his idea was despised by fans, players, and authorities across the continent.
Perez has reminded the clubs involved that they have signed contracts, and he has vowed to make the European Super League work in some guise in the near future.
So, while the chatter surrounding Europe’s breakaway league is quiet for now, this is certainly not the last we will hear of it.
Maybe Real Madrid will get their own way after all.