bonfire of greed.....

I don’t know about how the structure of the NFL, but forget about today’s obscene wages, they’ll paid a lot more

There are people who put their lives at risk, only for pouncy footballers to get paid beyond what they do at the moment

Footballers get paid what the market dictates, so it's just another area where all the wrong people get paid more than all the right people. We all contribute to it, so it is what it is and I think a pointless argument.

Greed is the motivating factor behind the ESL, but at the same time greed in football... well, that ship sailed a long time ago.

It's not the greed fans are angry about, even though that word seems to be defining the debate. The problem here is the lack of competition that the ESL creates. 15 clubs never having to worry about relegation, not bring able to enter the competiton, etc. And then, only four places for the rest of European football to be able to enter. It's a closed shop and will be an incredibly boring competition of glorified friendlies. For example, say Real Madrid win the first 5 ESL titles, will fans really be interested in watching the sixth?

Yes, the same can possibly happen in the Champions League, but that is the pinnacle that takes many more achievements to be able to do (qualifying being the obvious one).

The next step, which they have yet to announce, will be that the games will go on tour. This is a play for the Asian and American market, so prepare for ESL games to be scheduled in the U.S. and China.

If it were purely about money but an open shop competiton that was set to offer an alternative to the broken Champions League mode, most fans would be ok with it because they are not surprised by the pursuit of money. It's that lack of competition that is really the issue.

I think it will all fall apart, though. The best PR move for any club now would be to say they are not going to do it. "We got it wrong, didn't understand the emotion it would cause, so we are pulling out". That club should then ask the government or FIFA for help to get out of the legal ramifications of pulling out of the ESL deal. I think if one club did that, others will follow.

Quote from Splinter

So the ESL matches just become showcase events in the end, with not much of a goal in sight?

And remember what Brian Clough did for Derby and Nottingham back in the day? That wouldn't happen in the ESL, being a closed shop.

Exactly, because even so for example, Derby happened again and they won the Premier League and became one of the four invitees into the ESL for the following season. Derby is unlikely to win the Premier League again the next season and also not going to with the ESL. So, the next year Derby would be out of the ESL and back to square one. They would have reached the top, but only for a brief moment with zero chance of staying there.

Celtic won the European Cup in 1967 with 11 players born within a 30-mile radius of their stadium.

Not much chance of that happening nowadays....

Quote from GlasgowJohn

Celtic won the European Cup in 1967 with 11 players born within a 30-mile radius of their stadium.

Not much chance of that happening nowadays....

To be fair, there was not much chance of it happening then. That was an amazing feat even then.

Man City and Chelsea about to jump ship before it has sailed?

https://www.infobae.com/americ…an-abandonar-el-proyecto/

I haven't looked into how it's going to work to be honest. Is it a type of Champions League which means the teams involved will still take part in their domestic league programmes? If so, then I think it could work. If not then I think they're crazy.

Quote from UK Man

I haven't looked into how it's going to work to be honest. Is it a type of Champions League which means the teams involved will still take part in their domestic league programmes? If so, then I think it could work. If not then I think they're crazy.

It's all a big con - the founding clubs never have to qualify for the league.

Totally impossible for a small club to play in the tournament.

I think we should be looking at the level of debt of all the founding clubs - we might found out why they wanted to go ahead....

Looks like Chelsea and Manchester City have already withdrawn...

Looks to be a non starter then.

Man City have yet to confirm, or Chelsea, but it looks like them two along with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are looking for legal loopholes to pull out.

Apparently Manchester United's players are less than happy and chief executive Clive Woodward has now resigned. This is something United fans have wanted for years.

There has been an utter rejection from all angles of this league, it is not going to happen. I guess Man City and Chelsea will drop out first because they are the only clubs not really in this league for the money. The rest will all follow. Considering Real Madrid's president is also the president of the ESL, I suspect the club was the driving force behind this. Expect all the English clubs to leave within a couple of days and the league to collapse within a week.

What's interesting is how poorly they judged the mood of the people. Amazingly poor PR and market research.

Another thing that's happening is people are conflating the actions of individuals with those of the clubs. Unfortnately, it is not the clubs but the people that own them. And, it also has not much to do with debt. The Glazier family, for example has purposely kept Manchester United in debt for 15 years. Instead of paying off that debt, all revenue United takes (it's a lot) goes to the running of the club and then mostly to the Glazier family. They have been using the club as a cash cow. They have no interest in paying the debts.

These clubs have now been tarnished for the greedy actions of a few, who thought they could close the doors of the world's most popular sport and have their own little play thing where money would pile up for them each year. Amazing hubris.

Breaking news: All six English clubs withdraw from the ESL. Good riddance, because all I could see this going in favour of Spanish clubs

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56823501

Real Madrid and Barcelona are in massive debt. There's no doubt they drove this, but I think Man United, Liverpool, and Arsenal were also heavily involved. They are pure investments for the American owners and if the ESL was anything, it was a money train.

SUPER LEAGUE DEBTS - BEFORE THEY START

Atletico - £804m
Barcelona - £1.030bn
Real Madrid - £651m

Arsenal - £405m
Chelsea - £224m
Liverpool - £386m
Man City - £202m
Man Utd - £771m
Tottenham - £1.177bn
Inter - £757m
Juventus - £752m
Milan - £247m

Spurs have a new stadium, hence their involvement in the "Big 6" to clear out their big debt. Man Utd, according to some sources are near Spurs current debt level, but that has been growing for years

My involvement in football was yonks ago. I was given a footballer contract not long after this picture was taken....half a crown a week was the wage. How times have changed.