Barcelona president Joan Laporta believes a reinvention of the European Super League is needed to combat the "financial doping" of state-owned clubs in football.
Speaking at Barcelona's general assembly meeting on Sunday afternoon, Laporta outlined his 'solution' to solving the financial problems of the European game. Insisting a new version of the infamous competition would not protect its founding members, who had previously been shielded from relegation in the initial drawn-up plans back in April 2021.
Twelve leading European clubs, including Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United, were part of the inaugural plans for the European Super League.
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Despite those plans collapsing within a 48-hour period as supporters voiced their anger across Europe, including outside Anfield, cash-strapped rebel clubs Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona are still refusing to give up on their improbable dream as the trio are currently awaiting a ruling from the European Court of Justice against UEFA in their attempt to resurrect the self-governed tournament.
But Laporta, who has been repeatedly vocal about Barcelona's financial problems, insists a reworked competition is needed to ensure clubs across the continent can match the financial backing of teams like Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City who have links to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates respectively.
“The financial situation of football clubs, which we must remember are the only ones who assume financial risks and costs, is very worrying," Laporta told the general assembly. "We have had to resort to the financial levers that have been necessary to sustain our future. That is why we have supported the creation of the Super League from the beginning.
“We still firmly believe that it [ESL] is the solution that football needs, especially football in the European Union which, unfortunately, is not having the best of times, immersed in a negative trend in terms of television audiences, stadium attendance and the difficulty of attracting new fans, especially among young people, who are seduced by other entertainment.
“In addition, Barca’s financial situation has been aggravated in recent years by another problem that no one has been able to put a stop to until now, the financial doping of certain competing clubs. This issue will indeed be addressed by the Super League and this is one of the main reasons why we support the project.”
During Jurgen Klopp's seven-year reign at Anfield, Liverpool have regularly gone head-to-head with the financial power of Manchester City as the two sides have wrestled for Champions League and Premier League glory. The desire to close that gap with increased revenue and a greater slice of the profits perhaps explains why the Reds' owners, Fenway Sports Group, were one of six English clubs to sign up for the original project before principal owner John W Henry swiftly apologised to the club's supporters for the "unnecessary negativity" he had brought to Anfield.
Laporta added: “We believe that the previous board of directors of the club made the mistake of trying to compete financially with the unsustainable pace imposed by the state-owned clubs. These are clubs that are not supervised by anyone, that are not subject to fair play financing, and which enjoy unlimited financial doping, which is completely unacceptable in Europe.
“Their behaviour, outside all the rules, leads clubs like Barça to have to choose between not maintaining their squad or signing big stars, or compromising their financial future. This is unacceptable. Uefa — the body that allows refereeing decisions like the one we suffered on Tuesday in Milan — should put a stop to these practices, but this has not been the case, rather the opposite.
“Barcelona has lent its support to the Super League project so that the clubs can control their own destiny and so that solvent mechanisms might be established to prevent financial doping and to ensure that the clubs compete only with their own resources and assets. No advantages.
“The current system does not fully protect member-owned clubs. Please forget about the Super League format and whether it is a rich, elitist, open or closed competition. If Barça is there, it will be because it is an open competition, with the best criteria of professionalism at all levels, based on meritocracy and with total respect for the state leagues.”
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