European Super League: Founding clubs have already lost £8 million each and risk financial penalties – report

Andrea Agnelli
(Image credit: PA)

The 12 founding clubs involved in the ill-fated Super League project have already lost at least £8 million each, according to reports. 

The Premier League’s so-called ‘Bix Six’ were joined by Italy’s AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus and Spain’s Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in announcing the breakaway competition on Sunday. 

But the project faced a fierce backlash from the football world and fell apart within 48 hours, with the six English clubs withdrawing on Tuesday and others following a day later.

With the calamitous effort to set up a new competition already doomed, the Mail Online reports that each of the 12 clubs bought equity stakes of around £8m in the Super League. 

That could just be the start of their financial problems, as the English clubs involved – Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City – could face financial penalties for pulling out.

Each club signed a Super League contract last week that committed them to the competition for at least three years.

And lawyers believe the paperwork will likely threaten large penalties for abandoning the plan so soon. 

With most of the clubs involved already facing financial worries as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the project’s humiliating collapse could have serious consequences.

Subscribe to FourFourTwo today and get your first five issues for just £5 for a limited time only - all the features, exclusive interviews, long reads and quizzes - for a cheaper price!

NOW READ

FEATURE European Super League: Is it just a bluff to get more out of the Champions League?

FEATURE Jose Mourinho: What next for the Special One?

QUIZ! Can you name the top 50 clubs in the all-time Champions League table?

FourFourTwo Staff

FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 on the back of a World Cup that England hadn’t even qualified for. It was an act of madness… but it somehow worked out. Our mission is to offer our intelligent, international audience access to the game’s biggest names, insightful analysis... and a bit of a giggle. We unashamedly love this game and we hope that our coverage reflects that.