'Brexit Super League could save football'
FT Desk
- 10 Aug 2022 05:30 CDT
- 3 min read
A Super League without English sides could fix the economy of football according to newly promoted Monza's general director Adriano Galliani.
Galliani is the right-hand man of Silvio Berlusconi - in footballing terms at least - and the pair previously steered AC Milan to the top of world football in the 1980s and 90s.
Now reunited at Monza, they helped guide the Rossoneri's near neighbour into the Italian top-flight last term, but their ambitions stretch well beyond mere Serie A survival.
A European Super League was announced by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in April 2021, but the six English clubs involved - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur - soon withdrew their support for it.
How long will the Super League last this time? ⏱ pic.twitter.com/3B2Xp4MDuB
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Spanish pair Real and Barcelona still officially back the proposal, as do record Italian champions Juventus, and Galliani thinks the opportunity should still be explored - only without the Premier League teams.
Galliani: 'without the English!'
"It could be a solution, but without the English," he told Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport. "There should also be a 'Brexit' in football. It would then be a true European championship, without the British.
"The 20 clubs in the English Premier League earn almost four times more than the 20 in the Italian Serie A. Monza get €33 million for TV rights, €3m of which must be donated to Serie B, so a total of €30m. A newly promoted Premier League team earns €160m. How can I compete with Nottingham Forest?"
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Forest have spent €100m this summer in recruiting the likes of Neco Williams from Liverpool and Taiwo Awoniyi, a former Liverpool player, from Union Berlin.
Monza's summer spending has thus far topped out at €23m, with Michele Di Gregorio and Andrea Carboni costing €4.3m apiece from Inter Milan and Cagliari respectively.
"We have the ugliest stadiums in Europe and that affects income and television rights, because an ugly and empty stadium is not sold on television," Galliani concluded. "We haven't built stadiums because bureaucracy has slowed everyone down and there are always a thousand obstacles, like at the San Siro."
