German star midfielder Toni Kroos of La Liga’s Real Madrid has expressed his support for the launch of a breakaway European Super League, saying that it “deserves at least one chance.”
“I think we will see the Super League. And I believe so for several reasons. The idea of the Super League has changed and deserves to be heard,” Kroos said on the podcast “Einfach mal Luppen.” “If you look carefully from both angles, you will see that UEFA is by no means a great Samaritan for football fans and that the Super League has no plans, at least in the second attempt, to exclude any team, because there will be no permanent founding members.”
Two years ago, 12 top football clubs in Europe joined hands to announce the Super League, but nine of them soon withdrew, leaving only Real, Barcelona and Juventus still battling for the breakaway competition.
The 12 European clubs that announce the European Super League. Top L-R: Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Bottom L-R: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan. /CFP
“It is a sports competition, an open tournament, but managed by the clubs and not by UEFA, because these clubs believe that they do not need UEFA for that. I think this deserves at least one chance,” Kroos added.
A22 Sports Management, one of the sponsor companies for the Super League, announced earlier this month a new plan that will include as many as 80 teams in the competition in the future.
“The vast majority of them share the assessment that the very foundation of European football is under threat, and it is time for change,” A22 said in a statement. “Feedback suggests a European football league that is open, based solely on sporting merit, multidivisional with 60-80 clubs and a minimum of 14 guaranteed European matches per club.”
The European clubs that still support the European Super League. Bottom L-R: Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid. /Designed by CGTN’s Li Wenyi
UEFA, the football governing body in Europe, has been one of the most determined oppositions to the Super League, believing that such a competition could destroy football as a sport.
“I think we have only heard the UEFA side, and too often in my opinion. Why is it OK for UEFA to introduce a Nations League that no one needs? Suddenly no one asks them about it,” Kroos said. “That’s why I think it’s incredibly important to listen to other proposals like the Super League. I get the feeling that we are no longer being listened to.”
Kroos will sit out Saturday’s La Liga game against Osasuna because of flu. Real are currently second on the standings table and eight points behind Barcelona. They will visit Anfield to play Liverpool in the first-leg game of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie on February 21.
Source: news.cgtn.com
