The reigning European champions, Bayern Munich and the team they beat in last year’s Champions League final, Paris Saint-Germain, have issued statements against the creation of a European Super League .
Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Internazionale and AC Milan are the 12 founding members of a pro-independence tournament announced on Sunday.
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However, after Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, two of the candidates for the 20-team tournament, which will have 15 permanent members and five qualifying places, protested against its creation, Bayern announced that it would not ‘uniria.
“FC Bayern München have a clear position on the subject of the Superliga,” a statement from Bayern said.
Bayern president Herbert Hainer added: “Our members and fans reject a Super League. As FC Bayern, our desire and our goal is for European clubs to experience the wonderful and emotional competition that is the Premier League. Champions and develop it together with UEFA. FC Bayern say no to the Super League “.
CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to make it very clear that FC Bayern will not be participating in the Superliga.
“FC Bayern stand in solidarity with the Bundesliga. It has always been and is a great pleasure for us to be able to play and represent Germany in the Champions League.
“We all fondly remember our victory in the 2020 Champions League in Lisbon: don’t forget such a happy moment. For FC Bayern, the Champions League is the best club competition in the world.”
PSG have also expressed their disagreement with the creation of the competition.
“Paris Saint-Germain has a firm belief that football is a game for everyone,” said a statement from club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. “I’ve been consistent in this from the beginning.
“As a football club, we are a family and a community whose fabric is our fans: I think we should not forget that. There is a clear need to move forward in the UEFA competition model presented yesterday for UEFA [Monday] and conclude 24 months of extensive and collaborative consultations across the European football scene.
“We believe that any proposal without the support of UEFA (an organization that has been working to advance the interests of European football for almost 70 years) does not solve the problems currently facing the football community, but is driven by self – interest.
“Paris Saint-Germain will continue to work with UEFA, the European Club Association and all stakeholders in the football family, based on the principles of good faith, dignity and respect for all.” .
Many of the clubs in the European Super League suggested in a statement that they would continue to participate in their national leagues, but all relevant local federations have threatened to expel them if the tournament continues.
The presidents of UEFA (Aleksander Ceferin) and FIFA (Gianni Infantino) have also harshly criticized the Superliga project.