- 17 hours ago
Barcelona & Madrid receive €1 BILLION bonus for joining Super League
FT Desk
- 13 Nov 2022 18:36 GMT
- 3 min read
Joan Laporta has revealed that Barcelona, Real Madrid and all founding clubs will receive a bonus of €1 billion if the European Super League goes ahead.
In April 2021, 12 of Europe’s biggest clubs released a statement indicating that they were forming a breakaway league, though within 72 hours the plan had crumbled.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham were all ‘Founder Members’ from the Premier League who quickly backed away, while Milan, Inter and Atletico Madrid similarly withdrew.
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus – three clubs in financial strife – have since refused to pull out and are still attempting to create a new competition.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is set to make a ruling on the legality of a European Super League in the coming months and with regards to the allegation made by Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus that UEFA has a monopoly has over continental football.
Laporta has now revealing the staggering amount of money that Barca, Madrid, Juventus and founding clubs will be paid as a bonus for joining the Super League.
"For starters, there would be a bonus of €1bn for the founding clubs," Laporta told Sport.
“Per season, we could get around €300m annually in this competition. Moreover, the key to the Super League is that it will be governed by the clubs. UEFA, obviously, would be there at the governing table, but the clubs would be a majority.”
When will the European Super League start?
Laporta added that the European Super League could start by 2024 or 2025.
"In March we expect a resolution from the Luxemburg courts and having begun a dialogue with UEFA, I believe in a couple of seasons the competition could start," Laporta said.
"Last Tuesday's meeting between the Super League CEO Bernd Reichart with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, was an important step forward. What the Super League aims to do is improve football, fight for the sustainability of football, so that the clubs come out of bankruptcy, so that the clubs can be more and more competitive and have more resources."
Barcelona had well-documented debts of €1.3bn until they activated a series of financial levers this past summer.
UEFA initially threatened Barcelona, Madrid and Juventus with legal action and possible suspension from the Champions League for their Super League actions.
However, the UEFA Appeals Body has since announced that it is no longer suing the three clubs.
