Liverpool confirm European Super League stance as…

Liverpool confirm European Super League stance as controversial relaunch plans emerge

Liverpool have not changed their stance over the European Super League despite the company behind it appointing a new CEO to deliver the competition in 'two to three years'.

The Reds were one of 12 clubs to put their names to the ESL plot back in April of 2021 but stepped away from the idea alongside Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid after the proposals were roundly rejected by football fans, the wider football community, governments and football organisations.

Liverpool principal owner John W Henry recorded a video apology to Reds fans in the hours after the project collapsed and the club have since moved to create a Supporters Board in collaboration with the Spirit of Shankly supporters group and other Reds affiliated fan groups that will have to give consent for any such ESL plan in the future.

Three clubs remain espoused to the idea of the ESL; Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus. The three rebel clubs have been involved in a lengthy legal battle with UEFA, the aim to clear the way for the launch of a version of the ESL in the future, the three clubs citing what they believe is a monopoly held by European football's governing body over competitions on the continent.

Ahead of a legal decision, the company that was created to drive forward the plans for the original 12 clubs, A22, hired a new CEO, German television executive Bernd Reichart, who told the Financial Times that he hoped the project could be up and running in time for the 2024/25 season.

"We want to reach out to stakeholders in the European football community and broaden this vision. Even fans will have a lot of sympathy for the idea," he told the FT.

While Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have been clear on where they sit with the matter, for the other nine clubs there is a continued unease with the continued push for the ESL.

When the 12 clubs signed up initially they all became shareholders in the holding company behind the plan, with financial penalties in place for anyone that backed out.

According to football business website Off The Pitch, 11 of the 12 teams still have a shareholding in the holding company and face a bill of hundreds of millions to extricate themselves from it.

But the ECHO has been informed that the stance of the club has not changed since their most recent statement on the matter, back in September of 2021, where they stressed that there should be 'no ambiguity' over their exit from the plans and that legal counsel was being taken over the best way to end their interest for good.

"Our involvement in the proposed ESL plans has been discontinued," the statement read.

"We are absolutely committed to following that through and there should be no ambiguity to suggest otherwise.

"We are acting on the best legal advice and approach to appropriately end our involvement."

The driving force behind the Super League was for financial benefit, with the ability to control their own deal making when it came to commercial and media rights, as well as a 'welcome bonus' of up to £250m.

But the clubs swiftly lost money, with their individual £8m equity stakes worthless and Premier League clubs then committing to paying £3.5m each for their part in the plot.

And according to documents seen by business website Bloomberg, even more money was wasted by the 12 clubs, with around £3.5m paid out to two firms for legal advice in the build-up to the launch of the plans last year.

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