Arsenal are one of 12 clubs that have reportedly agreed to join a breakaway European Super League with owner Stan Kroenke set to be on the board of the new competition.
The New York Times says the founding members could make a formal announcement about their plans in the next 24 hours before UEFA ratifies changes to the existing format of the Champions League tomorrow.
In January, FIFA and UEFA threatened players with bans from international competitions should they take part in any such breakaway competition and the governing bodies have again reacted furiously with news their initial threats have not been taken seriously.
A joint statement by UEFA, the Premier League, the Spanish Football Federation and Serie A labels the project “cynical” and “founded on the self-interest of a few clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever.”
Now a joint statement from UEFA, English, Spanish and Italian FAs and leagues in those three countries to say they are determined to stop “this cynical project”. pic.twitter.com/Wgay6qMWeK
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) April 18, 2021
In a statement of its own, the Premier League said: “A European Super League will undermine the appeal of the whole game, and have a deeply damaging impact on the immediate and future prospects of the Premier League and its member clubs, and all those in football who rely on our funding and solidarity to prosper.
“We will work with fans, The FA, EFL, PFA and LMA, as well as other stakeholders, at home and abroad, to defend the integrity and future prospects of English football in the best interests of the game.”
@FA The Football Association with an equally strong rebuke of the European Super League breakaway plan. pic.twitter.com/nJpEuRr1oj
— Carrie Brown 💙 (@CarrieBrownTV) April 18, 2021
The FA added: “For new competitions to be formed involving clubs from different associations, approval would be required from the relevant National Associations, confederation and/or FIFA. We would not provide permission to any competition that would be damaging to English football, and will take any legal and/or regulatory action necessary to protect the broader interests of the game.”
Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Sp*rs are the other English sides involved in the project. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus are also involved. So far, sides from Germany and France have rejected the chance to take part. PSG’s stance is said to be dictated by the fact their president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, sits on the UEFA board.
The competition is being bankrolled by venture capitalist money with clubs being offered up to €350 million to take part. That would go a long way to offset any financial losses from a European ban next season if UEFA were to get serious about a counter-attack.
Arteta on the Super League story:
"I don’t know anything about it. Once I know every detail and I have all the information, then I can evaluate and give you an opinion."
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) April 18, 2021
Mikel Arteta was asked about the rumours after Arsenal drew 1-1 with Fulham. “I don’t know anything about it,” he said.
“Once I know every detail and I have all the information, then I can evaluate and give you an opinion.”
If he isn’t a fan of the plans, it’s going to be very hard for him to express that publicly given his employer appears to be at the heart of them.
The big clubs hold all the bargaining power in this over UEFA. Can you imagine a Premier League without the top six or a Champions League without Real Madrid and Barcelona? Pretty sure the revenue and fans follow the clubs not the associations. In a way I’m all for it because fuck UEFA and they deserve it. Then again it’s a bit shit because of the small pool of competition.
I don’t like it but I do like UEFA panicking because they’re the epitome of money grabbing and it’s nice to see them feel it
It is a terrible idea. But for UEFA to think they have the upper hand is ridiculous considering their competitions rely on these teams to bring in revenue
Makes sense for us. We’re not likely to earn steady elite income anytime soon unfortunately.
Takes most emotion away of following a club through various competitions since so many years. I am sure the experience will be alien to most. How it profits the clubs should not be the concern for us fans… We ain’t share holders. I am against it. The IPL ruined cricket for me… I just hope this doesn’t.
Fifa and uefa are a joke I’d have no objection to getting rid of them
Not good for the national leagues though is it
Exactly this! I’ve been saying this for many years but FIFA and UEFA’s role as Governing body’s, rule makers and competition promoters is total untenable and both ripe and rife of corruption. The most recent and probably most disgusting manifestation of this being the death of 6500 migrant workers building stadiums in the middle of a desert. The only way their hegemony was ever going to be broken up is if the worlds most powerful clubs came together and forced it upon them, it looks like that day has finally come and i for one support them. A combination of… Read more »
It’s true that nobody has paid money to watch UEFA play football. It’s an early blow to the concept that no German or French clubs are involved though. Something like this really needs to represent all the major European countries/clubs.
That said, the threat of such a break away has been around for many years now but I wouldn’t be surprised if at the end of the day there wasn’t a compromise with UEFA. We’ll see.
Do you think the Champions League will have as much pull power without Juventus, Atletico, Barca, Real, City, Chelsea etc? Let’s be realistic.
Even the Premier League without the top six. It would be stupid to assume the Premier League has the upper hand.
I think they will reach a compromise for sure.
No, certainly not but it would be an even more powerful concept with France and Germany represented (PSG and Bayern are, after all, two of the mega clubs on the continent). The fact is, we don’t know what will actually happen. Like you, I think there will be a compromise at some stage.
I think you’ll see psg & Bayern join once the outcome becomes obvious. They don’t want the pr hit while the outcome is still uncertain. But there’s no way they will want to miss out on a super league
I think this is closet the European Super League has ever been to actually happening in the history of football. Given the influence of the US corporate ownership in the top clubs, and the financial backing of JP Morgan to the tune of billions, I think we are in real danger here of actually seeing this unfold. Then consider that impact the pandemic has had on every top clubs finances. So when you’ve got a load of investors offering huge sums of cash up front to be involved in something like this, there is very little that the Premier League,… Read more »
Absolutely, that these parasites see Covid as an opportunity to turn the screw should be a clue as to their nature.
I am actually so disgusted and disappointed that we have been dragged into this due to our ownership. I absolutely loathe the Kroenkes. Everything which Arsenal stood for, the class, the legacy, the football, has been slowly ebbed away ever since their involvement with the club. And to now understand that they have been cutting these deals behind our backs, the fans, completely against our knowledge and will, is so fucking disgraceful and disrespectful it honestly makes me so angry. I really wish there was some way to get these complete parasites out of Arsenal, and we could adopt some… Read more »
Do you think that we would be taking a stand against this & miss out on it simply if we had different owners? There’s too much money at stake, especially as the tv contracts & sponsorships will flock to the super league. The value of any club not involved in the super league will collapse – no owner would willingly let that happen.
Fuck the owners, Atom. This whole thing coming to light clearly highlights that KSE do not give a fuck about you, or any of us for that matter. They care about doing the bare minimum for maximum returns on their investment. Which is exactly what they will get if this Super League goes ahead. Furthermore, they are the drivers behind the initiative. They are pushing for this to happen. Its not as if they’re one of the last clubs left having to begrudgingly agree to terms or face a winding up order. They are literally being the ones who are… Read more »
I’m sympathetic to your views, but you’re pining for an era that doesn’t exist anymore. It doesn’t matter who owns Arsenal – they would do the exact same thing. The days of major football clubs being local institutions, owned by fans has been over for a long time. Thanks to all the interest in the PL etc. these are massive businesses now. Even small clubs in the PL are owned by foreign businessmen who usually have paid over $1 billion for them. This has been coming for a long time & unfortunately looks pretty likely it’s actually going to happen.… Read more »
I strongly disagree with that. Look at clubs like Munich who have said they don’t want to be involved in it. Not every person has a price. Some people have morals. And for me personally, its something that I would hope, or perhaps want from the owners of Arsenal to have. Naturally I agree with your point that currently its beyond laughable to expect the Kroenkes to fit into that bracket. But I dont subscribe to the narrative that every single person or hypothetical owner of Arsenal would want to go through with the European Super League. As a prime… Read more »
Bayern & PSG will join once it’s certain this is occurring. It’s just a pr game for them IMO.
Munich are owned by the fans, so I cant ever see them joining.
And as for PSG their ultras are fucking crazy, I think they would rip the city apart if PSG agreed to do something like that…
PSG will join – the owners won’t want to be left out & are only publicly against it bc of their position with Eufa. The value of sponsorships & tv rights will just collapse for anyone not in the super league – that’s a pretty big draw even for Bayern
PSG don’t need anyone’s money.
Munich’s operational model is fan lead — it wouldn’t ever happen.
Also, if those clubs refuse to leave their domestic league and UEFA, the European Super League wouldn’t hold and value either.
And let’s face it — the Bundesliga doesn’t need anyone’s help. It’s a huge successful league.
Psg owners will be reluctant to go anywhere I would think until the Qatar world Cup is played.
And miss out on what….?
Tell me what we would miss out on that we aren’t already missing out on assuming we were playing in the ECL (which if we win the Europa League, we will)
Money?
What makes you think Stan will loosen the purse strings – the guy is a fucking loan shark, nothing more.
More like an asset stripper, Silent Stan controlling Arsenal is a disaster.
Not good enough for them just to ruin Arsenal, they have to ruin football as a whole as well.
Top post, well said.
If this ludicrous idea actually happens, we should do an FC United and make our own Arsenal from scratch. When we start climbing up the leagues, we can buy Highbury back and return home
you do know that Highbury got demolished, right?
The exterior of the East and West Stands is still in place and the pitch has been turnrd into garden
Before that happens genuinely I would try my hardest to put together a consortium to buy Arsenal back off those fucking parasites, with ultimate goal of making it a fan owned club.
No chance i’m afraid. I reckon this was Kroenkes plan from the start, to turn Our Arsenal into a cash cow
The audacity of the man, has no interest in football, it is just about money and commercial value.
As fans we’d have to try, we couldn’t let those fucking parasites take Arsenal away from us
Like you, I too, am disgusted by the Kroenkes. They’ve been a bad omen since KSE bought their first shares of the club.
However, I observed that Real and Barca are also part of this agreement. These two operate using the socio model. Which is as close to the fan ownership you described (outside of Germany).
As Señor Perez of Madrid is reportedly the one spearheading this proposal, that would mean that even a club with its fans as majority shareholders went behind its own supporters back to agree to this.
Just my thoughts.
Yeah that’s a fair point, but also, I think Barca and Real Madrid are fairly unique circumstances given how corrupt and saturated in politcal scandals both clubs are.
So even though they are fan owned on paper they are so completely corrupted they’re almost similar to some sort of bent Government in a Narco state in South America — the fans aren’t really involved or hold the club to account for their actions the same way that the Munich fans do.
Good point on the corruption angle, that makes sense. We only have to look at how Sanllehi departed as he used to work for Barca.
Surprised by some of these downvote tbh. Most of us supporters might not be financial experts, but surely an Arsenal Football Club that is a cooperative is more sustainable than this crap.
We’re you saying the same when we spearhead the Premier League breaking away from the football league back in the early 90’s to make more money? Or when the club were voted into the first division in 1919?
This is standard Arsenal and has been how the club has functioned for over 100 years
This is a strange question to ask because it overlooks a few things.
(1) Barely any Gooners who witnessed the events of 1919 are still alive today
(2) Younger supporters like myself weren’t even alive when the Premier League was established.
(3) Unlike with this European Super League. The FA were in favour of establishing the Premier League.
(4) ITV were narrowly outbid by Sky. Had ITV been successful, the clubs would have made money anyway but things might have looked different today.
It’s a very pertinent question to ask because this Arsenal he talks about is a fantasy.
Look through the clubs history and it’s rife with greed and scandal
I definitely agree that there are some slight correlations to the cohort that drove for the foundation of the Premiership, but there’s also distinct differences between what happened back in the 90’s and now.
Back then you were talking about Sky TV being the main driver behind everything. And how Murdoch had a vision to put the Premier League in every family house in the UK.
That’s what it was mainly about.
Crucially though, sporting endeavor was still the main facet behind everything.
Its not the same as whats being done right now.
Well said 100% agree.
I can imagine the Premier league without the top 6 and out would be great. If Arsenal are among those 6 running off to a “super league” then adios… And so will end my fandom.
There is room for this competition if the different organisations open their eyes. Reduce the sizes of their leagues to 16, stick to one domestic cup per association and possibly offer a divisional cup. But teams that enter the European super League have to pay a financial commitment to their domestic leagues.
Totally makes sense for Kroenke. The lad knows nothing about football. He has bought a club competing for trophies, down to mid table, and has lost at least 300-500 mn in the process.
A guaranteed source of income, and a seat on the top echelons of Football, sounds like dream come true for Kroenke.
Now, he can focus on Walmart again, without any worries of Arsenal never winning the PL, never qualifying for CL, intermittent Europa campaigns or even at worst getting relegated, as he will keep raking in the money.
A very bad idea. We will.lose so much of why football is great. The US system without promotion and relegation is rubbish. We need to play traditional matches.
Please reject this.
I will not be interested in such competition. An endless “el classico” so boring.
I’m ashamed that our club are a part of this.
Exactly. This is kroenke through and through. I hope it happens, falls flat and the individual leagues are a huge success as they become affordable and go back to what they’re about: fans and football.
Plus Arsenal will get destroyed in this league. We’re barely in the top half of EPL as it is….
Then kronks will buy the mercenaries
On one hand we are struggling to get into the current super league- CL or the other this is a back door entry into the top league.
Main point though is, with clubs promised massive revenues, it will be ultimately us, fan who’ll have to foot the bill. This will be a separate tv package that we’ll all (over the world) have to pay for, all the fans who normally go to Emirates, will also have to pay massively to watch The Arsenal.
No we don’t have to pay for it.
I don’t think so, many just wouldn’t want to watch it. I wouldn’t go.
It’s seems all very NFL to me.
At least the NFL has a salary cap. I despise the NFL myself, after decades of fandom, but it’s not quite the same comparison.
Mate, it won’t be The Arsenal.
Not the club you and I know and love.
Arsenal ceased being The Arsenal in 1919, 6 years after the Woolwich Arsenal moved to north London
Arsenal have always been known as The Arsenal by a good many of its fan base since the 1930’s.
You’ll catch up with our traditions eventually….
I hope this Arsenal goes and collapses around Kroenke and fans take the team back and the new club forms as Woolwich Arsenal and fights it’s way back to the top of English football that is bereft of these corporate stooges. A dream, sure, but one I’ve had since these Euro super leagues started being discussed.
Ha. We will be to Super League as Italy are to the 6 Nations in rugby union.
Do you honestly think that we – the fans – have a say in any of this..? Have we fuck.
The only thing we can do, in the time honoured tradition, is vote with our feet.
I’ll tell you this – if this happens, that’s me and my season ticket finished. If this club doesn’t play in the English League or the FA Cup, then it’s no longer what I call Arsenal Football Club. Simple as that.
Stan – I will invest nothing in this club and let them rot.
Also Stan – We will be playing in a European Super League.
Either this league isn’t very super or Stan needs to drop some dollar on this team.
Also – Who the fuck does Stan think he is to reshape football as we know it? He’s given the game none of his attention and none of his investment. Why isn’t someone telling this cunt to fuck right off?
The assumption is that this was always his plan. And once in a European super league no serious investment will be required as losing won’t mean a thing. He’ll probably be a part of an ingenious never been seen before draft system too. Its the end to elite competitive football.
Yes, that’s a powerful argument but who knows what would happen if he sold up (highly unlikely of course, particularly now). There’s no guarantee at all we’d get the type of owner we want for our club. Despite the obvious attraction of saying a none to fond farewell to Stan I think we should nevertheless be a little cautious in what we wish for – we may just get it.
There’s no fucking guarantees NOW – never mind if we changed ownership. Come on Biggs mate, wise up, will you.
Roman Abromavich reshaped football as we know it. This is probably a smaller step further away than that was.
Exactly. There’s a very good reason only Americans and idiots watch American sports…
Why do you have to be a jerk and trash Americans in this? I’m American, hate this idea of a super league and hate the kronekes
I didn’t mean to trash Americans, Dan – and apologise if that’s the way my comment comes across (which, reading back, I can see that it might).
What I meant when I said Americans AND idiots is just that. Not that Americans are idiots.
Sorry for the confusion.
Perfectly put Johnny 4 hats
Did you forget yer meds again?…seems that way.
It’s comments like this that explain why there’s still such an unnecessary stigma attached to mental health.
When you look at it from money point of view, it seems like a good decision for him. I think for him it’s like a one time investment for gains – as long as the value of the club is increasing who cares what happens on the pitch. With the super league I would assume the value will only increase with the TV money.
The frustration is there must be so many other things that will make him money – why chose Arsenal when you have no interest in football.
And I would be disgusted, if he only drops some cash for the Super League. I would be just utterly disgusted.
Imagine if our owners put as much effort into making us better on the pitch as they have into scheming over a European super league…
Fuck. Our owners are going to destroy the history of our club on a fucking whim and greed. This is actually heartbreaking.
Yep, we’ll be bottom 5 candidates season after season, pulling in tonnes of money for KSE, but guess what… no worries about relegation.
Any Arsenal supporter thinking us being in a ESL under own current owners is a good idea is absolutely crazy.
This is kroenke through and through. Worst thing that’s ever happened to our club was letting that scumbag through the door.
It looks like it goes further than that. This is essentially an American take over of the sport. Man u Liverpool and arsenal the 3 biggest ibs in England all American owned. An American Bank financing the move into a competition that replicates American sports. One which the rest of the world isn’t interested in because its NOT truely competitive. They’re taking the world game and literally killing it at the elite level so they can line their pockets. This has to be stopped by any means. If there’s some way governments can prohibit these games being played in their… Read more »
If it should happen I Hope all fans Will join together and boycott the shit out of it.
Take my big hands! I’m in for the out.
I think that’s the only way. It will be gutting since really that would mean the end of the club as we know it… or the end of the club full stop. I doubt very much the FA would allow teams to waltz back into the current set up if it proved to be a disaster.
I hope FA announces 10 years or so of suspension to clubs who sign up, killing any hope of getting back. I feel ashamed of greed and insensitive nature of the club. Fuck KSE, known it for long, real malaise at Arsenal is not the manager, not the players, it is KSE, now is time for everyone to acknowledge.
Yeah. On some level I fell out of love with Arsenal after the Mhkitaryan fiasco. I realised at that point that for all the talk of class and values and blah fucking blah, they (and by extension myself) ultimately were happy to leave someone out who was a target of racially motivated discrimination, and not make a fuss about it because the potential reward outweighed any sense of moral decency. I still follow the club because it’s almost a 25 year old habit and it’s hard to just kick, but I won’t follow them through this. There are other hobbies… Read more »
It’s an old habit with me too so I know what you mean. I can’t in all conscience approve of the club’s actions in this. A very unsavoury US flavour, brought to us at nobody’s request by our parsimonious owner. As you say, there are other ways to spend time on, invest in and get enthusiastic about. I’ve no idea if this will go ahead, but if it does I can see my association with and interest in my club of almost 50 years coming to an abrupt halt. It will feel very strange not calling myself an Arsenal supporter… Read more »
You’re not alone mate. I have supported and attended since 1971 and feel exactly the same.
There must be literally thousands of us who have had enough. I hope it hurts that wig wearing idiot precisely where it hurts the most – in his pocket.
I’ve supported arsenal since the mid 80’s. If they become a part of this I won’t need to boycott, I simply won’t care any more. To be honest my life would probably be better for it. It’s barely a sport any more. Off the pitch it’s only about money. On the pitch there’s no integrity amongst players. They’ll all cheat their opponent and in turn opposition fans. Authorities don’t care about the standards of cheating as its an accepted part of the game. TV companies don’t care about the quality of the product because its played out like a soap… Read more »
Pretty much sums it up for me too. Simply put, this would change the club so much for me that I won’t recognise it as Arsenal anymore.
Well said mate.
When Xhaka ripped off his shirt and bellowed “fuck off” to the fans, something died in me.
A line had been crossed – a sign of the times that was ultimately and incredibly depressing (I was fucking livid at the time) to witness.
After everything we’ve been through, it’s THIS you want to boycott? Lol ffs.
Fans should have been boycotting years ago. It’s not only the owners to blame. Money has sipped into our culture and erased our ideals and joy.
Souless is how this makes us feel.
Fuck off Stan Kroenke.
Not just Kroenke. Looking at the names involved – Ed Woodward, Gazidis etc. I am sure they had the best of intentions for this.
I’m sure they did too, but for whom?
They’re only doing it for the fans, surely?
If this thing actually goes ahead and we join it, I think I’ll find another club.
Just stop support it for a while
The final nail in the coffin that carries the game I fell in love with.
The beautiful game whored out and fucked to death by fat billionaires. Sad times
Top post – powerfully poetic. Would make a great Gerald Scarfe cartoon.
Let’s see what is left over of the leagues. But I would support Aston Villa or something like that if it is, what is left.
I’d go with my local teams (one FL, one non league), probably with an eye on respectable former gunners.
The problem for UEFA and FIFA is that they aren’t exactly bastions of principle and honesty. Who is going to listen to them and let alone trust them? They’ve been making a rod for their own back for years and here it is.
FIFA shouldn’t have any say in the matter, like denying players to play in WC etc. UEFA Euro is okay if UEFA deny players. Yet this whole idea of Money league looks like a big fat bubble as of now.
Stan would cremate his own mother if it meant he didn’t have to pay his heating bill for a month
He made his kids pay for the wine from his winery for their wedding.
Part of what makes the Champions League special is that it doesn’t happen every week and you have to earn your place in it over a season. I don’t know if being force fed caviar with no threat of relegation, no accessible away games for fans with ticket prices probably being ramped up is going to be that exciting. The death of the traditional competitions like the FA cup. Less money finding its way down to grassroots. I’d like to hear what the arguments for it but at first glance it seems like an absolute stinker. Moneygrabbin’ pooper league more… Read more »
I guess an Enfield Town season ticket will be considerably cheaper than my Arsenal one.
The teams will be banned from their domistic leagues so playing the same teams with no promotion or relagation does not appeal to me one bit. Also, players not being able to represent their countrys will result in the best talent from South America etc avoiding the super league.
What the football world will look like afterwards, is something to be seen. But money would be tempting for players or whatever. It is just pure sh*t.
Agree that money talks but I can’t see the top young South American players giving up the opportunity to play for their county to play in this so called super league. If they did, the Chinese league would have been full of them by now. Football has been getting silly for a while now and as much I love the Arsenal, this may be the final straw for me if this goes through. I can’t support any other team and I think I now have to admit that the Arsenal I grow up, watched and loved for 40 years, is… Read more »
I must say, I was at a similar point last year after the City court thing. I was like, f*ck that shit. And I began watching and getting behind the womens team. Sounds strange, but it feels more like football as it should be, then this ESL ….. whatever.
When I think of the 10 years of my Arsenal journey, it could realisticly end it, because of that thing. But I would not care about … this.
F this. And F Kroenke if this is accurate. After 30+ years as an Arsenal fan, I’d find another club. I have zero interest in watching the same teams play each other over and over again.
And at this point, Arsenal don’t deserve on the basis of their play to be in this group. They would get crushed by the top teams.
I guess in the closed loop we’d have as much chance as anyone else over a period of time. Who knows what their ideas are about player recruitment, spending caps, etc may be. But alternately whatever their plans are they can stick them firmly up their arses. American sports fans may say different but removing the mechanisms of promotion and relegation will suck so much of what creates the drama
We should ignore or playing or whatever. Even if we would be Invincible and go into this sh*thouse of ESL, I would be fundamentally be against it. This should be a fundamental discussion, not on the basis, that we would get absolutely smashed in that sh*thouse.
This seems like a very Stan Kroenke move. I hope it dies an ignominious death.
You can say idea is stinking but wishing him bad death is kinda taking it too far.
I agree fully and did not do that.
Yeah it says “it” and means the ESL. Not him.
Fuck that cunt.
I will have nothing to do with Arsenal if this comes true and I hope there are millions more who will tell him to fuck off.
Kroenke ruins Arsenal and now wants to ruin football.
Can Flamini just come in and buy out Kronke now 😭
I’m not opposed to a European Super League. But I’m not a fan of this format. I’d rather they just create it as a tier above the current top flight. With promotion and relegation.
That said, if this is going to happen, I’d rather Arsenal be a part of it, than left out.
And I can’t help but think UEFA, FIFA, the FA, and the PL would be all for this if it was putting money in their pockets instead of taking it away. Their’s is not a moral stance, it’s a financial one.
100%
Also, I doubt they would give this much of a shit if Burnley, Wolves, Southampton and West Ham agreed to create their own mid-table super league 😂
I’m all for revamping European football but this isn’t the solution. There’s no consideration of the fans and personally, I like the variety of teams in the league. Playing 12 teams every season seems like it will get dull. It also wouldn’t surprise me if a breakaway fails over time and where would that leave the club. It seems to be about money and the level of competition but these aren’t premier league problems
This truly breaks my heart. If this happens, I’d like to think a ‘true’ Arsenal grass roots club is formed and entered into the football league system from the bottom. I will follow that club – not the Americanized bullshit on offer in a league created purely for international TV audiences. F**k you, Stan Kroenke. You’ll be the death of our club.
We’re so far from being super in any sense, so us being in a super league must be a joke.
Stan Kroenke, what an absolute cunt. May he die of syphilis.
Just even more greed in the game. This is too much.
Greedy bastards! This will kill fotball and my lifetime passion for Arsenal..
Hope also the players stand up against this horrorshow of a League.
Fuck off Kroenke you utter cunt.
Pure greed. Who do these fucking clubs think they are including us.
European super league would be a shit show and I for one wouldn’t be watching it.
Arent they just about to change the format of the champions league but no these greedy clubs want more.
Once again fuck off Kroenke.
Hate the greed in football. Does anyone really believe this will benefit anyone but Stan. Do you honestly believe he will invest the sums to allow us to compete with Barca, Real Madrid etc..no chance . More money for Stan. We can’t compete with half the Premier league right now let alone the giants of Europe.
Greed. VAR, owners that don’t give a toss about fans heritage or worth..rapidly giving up on football.
Lol @ the international federations threatening to block players. The obvious next step being an international super league, working in close partnership with the club superleague re fixtures, friendlies etc, instead of the current shite. Who the actual fuck wants to watch their clubs key players get injured during a mid season friendly against San Marino, with FIFA threatening bans if you don’t field players etc.
It’s all business anyway, so fuck it. Premier league…super league…..who gives a fuck.
ENTERTAIN US.
Wow. How many weeks ago did you start following football?
20+ years worth mate. with everything wrong in the modern game everyone wetting their pants over an ESL? Foreign ownership, player fees, agent fees, wages, fixture congestion, referee quality/corruption, UEFA corruption, FIFA corruption, racism, World cup in Qatar ffs, international friendlies (pointless FA/FIFA greed), FFP failure, doping. all this and more has already hollowed out ‘the beautiful game’ a breakaway league that sounds like it would be better than the champions league anyway (which has just been expanded by 4 teams and each team has 4 extra games to play in group stages = more money for UEFA, more injuries… Read more »
Gosh, what’s the point of this? Stan to make some easy money and let us be the laughingstock (even more than what we are now) of this super league? The idea of a super league is awful as well, one of the reasons I kinda dig european competitions is to see small teams compete with big teams as well, being able to sometimes shock them,or even to have fun and play against them. All this super league bs will do is to make football boring, no competition whatsoever, because there will be nothing to play for, no relegation, no promotion,… Read more »
hang on how the hell have spurs been invited to this, they have only been in the Champs league like 5 times in 70 yrs lol
Anyways I dunno how i feel about this… personally my feelings on it are fifa/uefa are corrupt as hell… maybe its time some one shook things up
Pretty tidy business for Stan. Can’t actually compete and win a spot in the CL? Can’t compete for the Prem? Make a new league that like the US has no relegation, and watch tour team’s value go up and up!
No need to invest in your team, you’re guaranteed TV revenue and you can’t be relegated.
Guaranteed only if people watch this new super league tripe. If the fans don’t watch it, it won’t work.
As abhorent as it is,if the rest of the big clubs are in it,we should follow.
Fuck off.
Look forward to future interviews from Josh telling us all how ambitious KSE are and how Top 10 finishes for Arsenal shouldn’t be unrealistic aims.
Haha dear me. Too true
Guys ever stopped to think why so.manu Americans owned premier League and other football teams. This was their plan all along. They are the most hegemonistic country every. They want to capture everything. What were the FA and UEFA doing when clubs were being taken over by these billionaires? They just filled Thier pockets and did nothing to stop them. This was bound to happen.
Is this what Josh Kroenke meant when he said, ‘Be Excited.’
We can’t beat Fulham at home and we want to be playing Real Madrid every week? Fuck off.
This sounds seriously bad and could do irreparable harm to the Arsenal I love. We’d end up with crap players because they wouldn’t be eligible to play for their countries, we’d have a half empty Emirates blaring out crap and probably cheerleaders and a whole lot of crass bullshit, stupid shirts with ads all over them, a boring “league” where we could be smashed up and end up bottom every year and it wouldn’t matter, no FA Cup, no Europa or Champions League to fight for, and no proper fans. I don’t think I could stomach it, and although it… Read more »
Well, it’s taken you ages, but you’re finally posted something I wholeheartedly agree with.
*you’ve
Fuck Kroenke. This European Super league shit needs to stop. What actual football fans even want it?
I know the Super League isn’t exactly popular, but does the line up of clubs remind anyone of the “Master League” glorys days of PES 1 and 2 on the PS1? Can’t wait for Edu to sign the 38-year-old Miranda on a free.
Not a Kroenke fan but I would expect Arsenal to be part to join other big European teams in this threat.
At best, it’s a threat designed to force UEFA not to go ahead with their reforms which aren’t in Arsenal’s interest.
At worst it comes to fruition and we’re not left behind in the big money move.
Fans need to unite. We get no say? you don’t care about us? fine but we can vote with our wallets.
Don’t watch. Don’t attend. Don’t buy anything.
Fuck Stan. Fuck all of them.
At least Arsene is no longer here to see this.
Stan can rot in hell. He only cares about $$$ and not the club.
Shameful. Every team that’s signed up to this should be fined and automatically relegated.
If Kroenke wants us playing against the likes of Real Madrid then we need to earn a spot in the UCL not join a breakaway Mickey Mouse competition. Disgusted by the clubs behaviour here.
I’m very confused at all this. Why are Arsenal involved?
We aren’t a top six club. Surely a team like Leicester should be taking the last six spot.
Is it any surprise that Silent Stan is said to be a prime mover in this self interest driven idea. The man has one interest in AFC to milk every last cent out of the cash cow.
This would be a terrible idea. Also, how can it be a ‘super league’ if the spuds are included? An oxymoron surely?
I wonder if I’ll be watching football in 5 years time tbh
A lot of very strong opinions expressed here – and quite understandably so. However, let’s wait and see what actually happens because at some stage in proceedings a “c word” is likely to turn up. No, not that one, but “compromise”. The plans for the ESL are very public muscle-flexing on behalf of “the usual suspects” led by Mr Perez in Madrid and ably supported by more than one name familiar to Gooners. In response, UEFA obviously aren’t just going to say “OK chaps, off you go and do your own thing.” (but probably in a different accent) so they… Read more »
Yes, you are probably right, it’ll probably end in some kind of ‘compromise’. Something not quite as unpalatable. A case of successful bullying by billionaires, acting against the spirit of Sport, against the interests of the majority of the actual fans of the teams involved and against the traditions that many of us (irrelevant, disenfranchised ‘ordinaries’) love dearly. No love here for Uefa, Fifa, or the FA, but I’m clear who the bad guys are in this fight. If it does go ahead, I won’t be alone in giving up my season ticket. No doubt the corporate agency that takes… Read more »
Some good points. I’m a season ticket holder as well, but I haven’t decided what to do yet.
Agree this is probably a negotiating tactic but it is one which is very revealing of the ideal direction of travel of the ownership of the club. The compromise will just be pushing the problem off for another decade or so.
Possibly, but the ESL concept has been around since the 1980s I think, when the elite European clubs formed a grouping (to which Arsenal joined when they relaxed their rules – we weren’t quite “elite” enough to join under the old ones).
It’s not so much the elite concept which concerns me (whether we’re considered as such or not) but the potential removal of promotion/relegation. The reduced competition caused by growing inequalities between clubs is bad enough but that loss would eventually remove merit from the equation entirely.
So far, the clubs rumored as charter members aren’t in positions of strength at present (City and Pool excepted). Among the ‘biggest names’, but many have their problems– either financial or on the pitch– relative to their historical standing. This seems a situational stratagem. Sensing that UEFA is in a weakened position. This Super League concept is being used as a ‘threat’ to force UEFA into compromise. What this compromise might look like? My crystal ball isn’t that clear. What needs to be realized? That the billions-of-pounds/dollars Sky Sports (and BEIN) has paid to televise the PL for the last… Read more »
Yeah, this may be the final straw for me.
It was a matter of time till we got to this point. And I’m still surprised we are here. It will be pretty interesting to follow along what will happen the next few months. And that Kroenke is at the core of that, does not surprise me.
I must say, if this goes through and there is only a superleague, I will probably eject and leave Arsenal as my football club. And it is hard write something like that. Unbelievable stuff. F*ck Kroenke.