The European Super League was officially announced on Sunday April 18, receiving plenty of backlash for the implications that it will have on European football.
The competition has been formed by 12 European clubs, in a bid to replace the UEFA Champions League seeking to get rid of intermediary associations like UEFA and FIFA.
The project's founding clubs are: AC Milan, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Inter, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur
As a result, we have compiled four reasons as to why the creation of the European Super League will have long-lasting negative effects on the game that we all love.
Domestic football ban
First of all, UEFA, FIFA and other associations such as the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A, have all declared that the clubs entering the Super League will be banned from playing domestic football.
Additionally, UEFA have declared that those clubs will all be banned from any future UEFA competitions if they actually pursue the project.
Financial domination
If clubs are actually allowed to feature in their respective domestic leagues, then it could prove to be an even worse situation than initially perceived.
According to reports, any of the teams accepting the invitation to play in the Super League will receive around €300 million, which is around three times as much as they would receive from the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.
Therefore, for example the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United will have an even bigger advantage if they are allowed to compete in the Premier League. There is already a great discrepancy between the clubs that regularly compete in European football and those that are fighting for the European spots, and this will only increase it even further.
Additionally, it will continue to increase the already huge difference between certain clubs in the top divisions and those in the lower leagues. Premier League clubs already receive more funds for getting relegated than Championship clubs earn for promotion, and this will only make the situation worse.
Clubs are already struggling massively due to the ongoing pandemic, and this will only lead to even worse implications, with the football pyramid being completely restructured in a manner that will lead to less TV money for the lower clubs as a result of the focus on the Super League as a separate entity.
Clubs there as a result of financial backing not on merit
A big factor in this is that the clubs in the Super League are not there based on their own merit, but because of their financial power in Europe.
Clubs like Arsenal and Spurs have struggled massively in recent seasons, yet they attract a greater viewership than several other European clubs, and it is massively unjust how they are being rewarded for their underwhelming performances this season.
On the other hand, clubs like Leicester City and Sevilla, who have impressed this season, are not even being considered.
Neglect of history and destruction of the game we all love
Lastly, this will completely take no care for each club's history, along with the histories of domestic competitions and the UEFA Champions League.
Several key figures in football have voiced their disapproval of the competition, including Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Sir Alex Ferguson, Ian Holloway and several others.
Sir Alex Ferguson, one of football's most notable figures ever, claimed that "Talk of a Super League is a move away from 70 years of European club football."
"Everton are spending £500 million to build a new stadium with the ambition to play in Champions League. Fans all over love the competition as it is."
If there is no way to achieve promotion or be safe from relegation, then a sense of competitiveness within the rest of the league other than at the top will be completely lost, meaning that several clubs will playing needless games with no ambition whatsoever.
April 18 2021 could prove to be a historic day for football, with the European Super League being announced, but it could be remembered for all of the wrong reasons, and possibly for the destruction of football.
