As the night drew low, Real Madrid gave the go-ahead and the idea of the European Super League cut through the night sky like lightning, with 12 top clubs following suit and announcing their participation. The luxurious lineup includes Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, and the leaders of these giants are led by Real Madrid's president, Fiorentino, who is in charge of the inaugural presidency. The official website declares that the 2022/23 season will be the starting point of this new league.
The clubs have acted without UEFA's approval, which is a challenge to their authority. The reasons behind this are complex, but "money" is certainly the engine that drove the change. UEFA is preparing to expand the Champions League, and the 12 clubs chose to declare their independence before the vote, clearly dissatisfied with the expansion plan and protesting against the unequal distribution of benefits.
UEFA had planned to expand to 36 teams in the Champions League, and the number of matches would be increased to 10, however, these 12 clubs jumped the gun and announced the formation of a new league, which was meant to express their dissatisfaction with UEFA. With box office revenues plummeting under the impact of the new Champions League pneumonia and many teams in trouble, UEFA's insistence on expansion despite opposition from most of the giants became the trigger.
The UEFA Superleague is considered a closed version of the UEFA Champions League, which begins in August each year, with 15 of the 20 teams being founding members. The format of the tournament is 10 teams in two groups, playing home and away, with the top 3 from both groups advancing to the final 8, and a play-off to determine the final two places.The final 8 begin the knockout stages, with the final scheduled for the end of May at a venue to be determined.
This may seem like a simplified version of the Champions League, but there are actually more matches, and the key to this is revenue distribution. UEFA in the 19/20 season will be 3.25 billion euros of total revenue, after deducting the relevant costs, only 2.04 billion euros left to be distributed to all teams. The European Super League has a more generous distribution of prize money, up to 245 million euros per win, and the founding teams can earn 150 million euros even if they lose every game.
UEFA struck back swiftly and forcefully, unanimously approving the expansion of the Champions League and announcing that it was suing the giants for 60 billion euros and banning them from all competitions under the UEFA umbrella. In conjunction with FIFA and the national soccer associations, these teams were banned from participating in the Nations League, Champions League, UEFA Cup, and international tournaments, and may even be banned from the UEFA Nations Cup and World Cup. For teams that have participated in the UEFA Premier League, the return to the national league may have to start in the fifth division, taking four years to return to the top flight.
