Mumbai football fans react to the new and controversial European Super League

Leeds United fans hold a banner against plans for a European Super League and the involvement of Liverpool football club outside Elland Road ahead of their EPL match in Leeds. Photo: AFP/Paul Ellis

A day after Europe's top 12 football clubs have broken away to join the newly-formed European Super League in a bid to ramp up their earnings and be in a league of their own, fans all over the world are furious. Among the various leagues left behind, fans of the English Premier League - which enjoys a large support base in Mumbai - are especially angry as they think the new mega league will no longer be about the football but just about earning more money for top clubs.
The proposed ESL includes clubs from three leagues at this stage - English Premier League, Spanish League La Liga and the Italian league Serie A. While Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are the six English clubs, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are the three Spanish clubs to have joined. Italian giants AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus, have also joined the league. It will have 20 participating clubs with 15 founding members and a qualifying mechanism for the other five teams, who will participate based on their achievements in the previous season.

While announcing the decision, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, chairman of the European Super League, said the new league is being formed to ‘save football at this critical moment', according to a BBC report. Forty percent of young people aren't interested in football anymore and with Covid-19 pandemic, his Spanish club had lost 400 million euros, he claimed. Perez was also critical of the current format of the UEFA Champions League, saying it was interesting only after the quarterfinals. Pitched as an attempt to keep the interest in football alive, the planned new league seems to have backfired, as fans world over are not happy with its exclusionary nature. This has reportedly prompted at least one team to reconsider moving and the UK government to say it will attempt to stop the breakaway.

Mid-day.com asked Mumbai-based supporters to spell out why they think the new league is a bad idea:

Clive D'souza, 27, Manchester United supporter
"It's like a closed league. Seems open, but invites only. For the rich. So, with that money, the top clubs can buy any top player. Buy out the competition. In this, Goliath wins. Every single time," says D'souza, who is strongly against it because he has been a supporter of The Red Devils since 2004 and will continue to do so for the love of football. He adds, "A club like Leicester City can cope with the problem as their owners are better off than the rest of pack. But for example, Norwich City who have come up from the championship, they stand no chance. There is a Teemu Pukki scoring against Manchester City, there won't be Stuart Dallas winner as the top will always buy their way out. There will be no excitement of a small club going all the way and getting in to champions league spot. It won't be glamourous anymore."

Kaustubh Jadhav, 30, Arsenal supporter
"I have always taken pride in being an Arsenal fan for how much the club has continually done for the community. Whether it is locally in North London or in Syrian refugee camps, Arsenal have always been on the forefront of giving back to the fans and, in the process, being true to its motto of 'Victoria Concordia Crescit (Victory Through Harmony)'. This move for a European Super League goes against that motto. The only victory in this is for the big clubs and the harmony is only between them and their money. I do agree and believe that the governing bodies of the sport, FIFA and UEFA, need to do a lot more for the sport than simply holding tournaments. But this move for the ESL does not dissuade those problems at all. It simply takes those same problems of greed to a higher level. All in all, it is a shambolic and heartbreaking move especially coming from a club that I have loved for the values that Papa Wenger (former manager Arsene Wenger) had instilled." Talking about how this will affect smaller clubs, he adds, "It depends how they look at it. If they are to think selfishly, then they must be thinking, 'Well, these big ones are gone, we have a chance now'. But that's the thing about smaller clubs; they have time and again showed that they care about the sport and its fans. It might subdue the impact of their future accolades because a reaction could be, 'oh, you won because the big ones are not here.' The smaller clubs should not let this impact them much apart from taking a lesson in what lack of sincerity of owners can do. Fans of the smaller clubs should revel in the fact that they/locals have majority ownership which basically stops from billionaire owners ruining it all for everyone. I have been an Arsenal fan since February 2003, a season before The Invincibles. At the time, the club's majority (51 per cent) ownership was held by the fans. That has been instrumental in the culture of the club and its tightly knit relationship with the local community. That was what stopped the club from falling prey to greed. Small clubs should see this fall from grace and fix their problems while continuing to compete as best as they can on the pitch. That's where fans like all the greed and hunger, not off it."

Nishad Neelambaran, 28, Chelsea supporter
The city-based media professional has been an ardent fan of The Blues for over 20 years now and has supported them through thick and thin, most recently the sacking of manager and club legend Frank Lampard. With the fan's groups buzzing, he says, "If Super League gets the green signal, then it would be a catastrophic event in the history of football. The game, leagues, domestic cups and other major tournaments are a major source of revenue for other small clubs and tier-2 and tier-3 clubs across Europe. If you remove top 6 favourite clubs from major leagues in Europe, the viewership is bound to be affected and this would spiral down and give birth to other issues and such difficult situations may even force smaller local clubs to shut permanently. In recent years, we've seen how major clubs from every city plays an important role in the well-being of their community, all of this will be sacrificed and perish over time if Super League becomes a reality."

Shival Ramwani, 29, Liverpool supporter
Ramwani, who has been a supporter of The Reds since 2004, says, "I have similar sentiments to that of millions of supporters across the world. I've always enjoyed a David vs Goliath scenario in football. Obviously, it's fun to watch big teams, bigger clubs compete against each other. But an underdog story beats such matches all ends. It was phenomenal to see the uprising of Leicester City as a football club. From being a mid-level and lower-level football team to winning the league in 15-16 and consistently performing well, is such an inspiring feat for not just the teams in the country, but across continents. And the opportunity to play in Europe is the exact platform and motivation one needs to keep on performing and improving themselves. Their hardwork and resilience is a testament for smaller yet talented clubs across and making them devoid of these opportunities will only hinder their aspirations and confidence. This is where poaching from big clubs will come into the picture and take away all their key talents which in an ideal situation would've helped them grow up the ladder and achieve glory. To be honest, Liverpool football club is and has always been a people's club much like it's neighbour Everton FC. To be involved in the super league is not about merit but just privilege. That's not how Liverpool FC started. That's not the club I fell in love with. But if that's the case, then I'd like to say one thing to the owners of Liverpool FC, "You'll Always Walk Alone" (In reference to the club's anthem You'll Never Walk Alone).