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THE potential launch of a European Super League was given credence on Tuesday when Barcelona’s outgoing president revealed that the club had given its initial approval to a new competition.
Josep Bartomeu said it was one of his last calls before resigning from Barcelona, while under pressure from fans. It added fuel to growing reports about a new Europe-wide competition in which elite clubs could earn more money and play each other more often.
The Super League project has been “put forward by the biggest clubs in Europe,” Bartomeu claimed, though none has publicly acknowledged the idea.
Currently, the Uefa-run Champions League is the continental competition that the top-level clubs play in. Uefa is preparing talks on ways to revamp its marquee event taking effect in the 2024-25 season.
It was not immediately clear from Bartomeu’s comments who would be organising a Super League or if such a competition would replace the Champions League.
“I can announce that we approved the requirements to be part of a European Super League,” Bartomeu said, adding that it would “guarantee the club’s financial stability, which will continue to belong to the members.”
“The decision to play the competition now must be ratified by the next [club] assembly,” he said, without specifying why.
The announcement alarmed the head of the Spanish league, Javier Tebas.
“Unfortunate Josep Bartomeu announcing on his last day the participation in a phantom competition that would ruin [Barcelona] and reiterating his ignorance about the football industry,” Tebas tweeted. “A sad end for a president who did many things right but that lately made many mistakes.”