(Football news) Ex-Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli, who was one of the chief architects of the European Super League in 2021 expressed his support for the breakaway league in his farewell speech at the club. The 47 year old resigned along with the rest of the board members in November last year after a police investigation into the club’s transfers. As per the European Super League, 12 of the biggest clubs had signed to compete in their own league but the plan collapsed in just 72 hours after nine clubs withdrew after protests from fans and opposition governing bodies.
“European football needs a new system. Otherwise it risks a decrease in favour of a single dominant league which within a few years will attract all the talent of European football within its league, completely marginalising the other leagues and the others are already marginalised. When I was president of the ECA (European Clubs Association) and of the Uefa executive committee, the analysis was evident. There was no club sustainability, a vertical polarisation of interest towards only two leagues, access to very risky financial instruments and fan disaffection.
“The proposal at the time was the creation of a league system with access different from the classic ones. This proposal was made in 2019. If I personally wanted to maintain my privileged situation, I would not have taken the decisions of April 2021. The hope is that the European Court of Justice recognises professional sport as an industry, since the turnover of football is 55 billion euros (£48bn). I thank Real Madrid and Barcelona who, together with Juventus, had the courage to face the threats from Uefa.” – Andrea Agnelli said in his farewell speech
A report released by the European Court of Justice revealed that UEFA and FIFA’s actions against the European Super League were “compatible with EU competition law” and a final ruling will be made by a 15-member Grand Chamber next spring. As for Juventus, the club are currently listed on the Italian stock exchange and are being investigated for presenting false accounting information to investors and producing invoices for non-existent transactions. The club have denied any wrongdoing but ex-chairman Andrea Agnelli along with vice-chairman Pavel Nedved have resigned.
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