In September 2021, 12 clubs posted an official document confirming their participation in the European Super League. The league was co-founded by Real Madrid President Florentino Perez, Liverpool Chairman John W. Henry, Manchester United Chairman Joel Glazer, Arsenal Chairman Stan Kroenke, and Juventus Chairman Andrea Agnelli. These four major European club leaders announced the Super League, where the four teams would play against other big clubs such as Barcelona, Chelsea, Milan, Inter, and small clubs like Spurs and Manchester City.
Despite most of the big teams joining in, three clubs decided against it: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). German clubs, Dortmund and Bayern, turned down the opportunity to join due to them being majority fan-owned as well as their belief in football being a people's game. On the other hand, PSG opted against it due to their self-awareness of the bashing they would have to put through week in and week out had the Super League carried out with them being a part of it.
As the weekend games in the Premier League unfolded, the fans took a strong hold of the atmosphere making it hell for teams to enter the ground out of protest for the league. After a strong push from fans all around, the league was held back and put on hold.
The main reason the league failed was due to the discrimination among the teams. It structured football into a bubble for the elite teams rather than being inclusive for everyone. Presently, small teams play on an even ground against these elite teams, which allows for excitement and upsets. Villareal won the Europa League against Man United, Lyon knocked out Man City, and of course, the 2019 Ajax team knocked out two against Real Madrid and Juventus in consecutive rounds. These moments are what make football so enjoyable. The European Super League would take the fun of Football and make it Moneyball.
While the league failed in 2021, it was revived in 2023, as the Real Madrid and Barcelona presidents announced an upgraded and more equitable version. This new league will consist of divisions where teams will be placed in accordance with their finishes in the leagues. The league was set up to be more fair and take into consideration the imbalance of money among the current football teams. For instance, Manchester City, Chelsea, and PSG have an abundance of money. For example, Chelsea spent $1 billion in transfers last year, Man City spent nearly $2 billion in 8 years, and PSG caused the inflation that occurred in the football transfer market with the grand $222 million signing of Neymar and $180 million signing of Mbappe.
While some clubs were sustained in this inflated market such as Real Madrid who made smart signings, or Liverpool, clubs like Barcelona are drowning in billions of dollars of debt. The league will allow for the reincarnation of Barcelona, while also helping other clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United to get rid of their debt.
Finally, this league will allow for every team to get a fair share of the money they make for the league, unlike the UEFA which only gives the club a small percentage of revenue generated by the clubs participating in the competition. Whether or not the league will actually begin in 2025 is still up in the air, but the league is a great way to avoid the cruel numbers of games organized by FIFA, and UEFA which destroy players' health. Hopefully, this will ensure a better, more equitable playing field for all clubs.