FILE PHOTO: Flags with the UEFA logo are seen outside the headquarters of the Union of European Football Associations in Nyon, Switzerland, October 5, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
MUNICH – Bernd Reichart, CEO of the company that backs a proposed Super League, said on Wednesday that European football is losing its leading role in world sport and clubs are not playing. maximize their potential under the current system.
Reichart highlighted a report published in May by data and analytics platform Football Benchmark, which said only five of Europe’s top 32 clubs recorded profits in the 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus were among the 12 clubs to declare a break from the Super League in April 2021 but following a hostile reaction from across the game and from fans and the government, the move was swift. fall.
All six English clubs plus Inter Milan, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid have withdrawn but Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus continue to push the idea.
Reichart, who was announced as CEO of A22 Sports Management on Tuesday, told Reuters: “European football is losing its leading role in world sport and clubs are falling behind in terms of sport. their chance.
“The system has become quite unstable, it is no longer self-sustaining. I think the clubs will be able to decide their fate, as they also bear all the (financial) risks. Most clubs agree that this cannot continue.”
One aspect of the Super League proposal that initially angered fans was that it was a closed competition for Europe’s elite clubs, but Reichart says that’s no longer true.
“We don’t want to leave anyone behind. In our new approach there will also be promotion and relegation,” said Reichart.
US investment bank JP Morgan was set to fund the Super League in 2021 but Reichart said it will now be “started from scratch”.
Reichart has also written to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin seeking a meeting to discuss Super League-related matters, according to a letter obtained by Reuters.
UEFA did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the letter.
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