The cutting edge of world football in its present state is similar to a crime movie in which cops are indistinguishable from criminals. There is no one to identify with, no one to cheer on, no one to take on anything with a relatively intact, residual moral sense. The ominous signs have multiplied for years, but what has happened in recent days — and is likely to happen in the future — is literally the end. A desperate scramble for scraps, a riot of Russian oligarchs and Arab oil magnates on the pretext of football and the agony of corrupt old men desperately clinging to their power.
Meanwhile, literally there are no players anymore, having been replaced with purpose-bred gladiators. Maybe Ronaldinho was the last to laugh throughout a game. Because he enjoyed every moment, and it probably would have been the same if only earned just enough money with his talent to support his family fairly. Now, it’s over. This is money laundering, and I, for one, am no longer very interested in Norwegian stupid kids acting as piggy banks for hulking meat towers.
The news of the transformation of the big football events are not exactly new, the pandemic just made it that more urgent things got enthusiastic. A few days ago, on that sad Sunday, it was revealed that the twelve defining teams of European club football had agreed to form a super league. More exactly, it was not primarily the clubs themselves, but JPMorgan Chase bank. But let’s also look at the list of dissidents.
Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan, Internazionale. Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain are preparing. The timing is not accidental. The UEFA would have announced the reorganization of the Champions League the next day, precisely to prevent the creation of a new super league.
Which would be the wrong move anyway, as it would serve no other purpose than for the so-called elite to play calmly in their sandbox without the little ones from Eastern Europe. Because they own the ball, and you’re not in. One of the first, tangible and fair reactions to the case is that of Gary Neville. The Manchester United legend said, “I am most disgusted with Manchester United and Liverpool. MU is a hundred-year-old club founded by workers. And do they want to get out of the Premier League, go into a tournament you can’t get out of? This is an absolute shame. We need to take back power from the top clubs in the league, and that includes my club, Manchester United.”
In contrast, the European federation (UEFA), which did not protest at all when their buddies (FIFA) gave Qatar the right to host the World Cup, even though the decision reeked of dirty money, is left with only threats — of course in agreement with FIFA — that they will then ban players from clubs joining the Super League, banish the breakaway teams from national championships and European cups, and so on. Indeed. And then they admit the resulting loss of revenue and the fact that the biggest derby in the English league, for example, would be the Leicester – West Ham match. Otherwise, they could embrace it, but lack the courage to do so. And all they are good at is counting the revenues because let’s face it, this is about nothing else but money.
The perfect example is the fact that the clubs that would join the Super League would receive €350 million. And that’s just the entry prize.
Now, a club can make about a €100 million euros by winning the Champions League. Everything else is just hot air. The market is being redistributed, it is only that everyone has a different idea of what their share should be. Gary Neville is right. It’s a shame. And of course, the so-called players also have to share. All those overpaid Bentley-collectors, vigorous 20-year-olds who don’t want to travel to Azerbaijan once a year for a qualifier because they may have a heart attack on the plane.
I feel lucky to still have been able to see the iconic Ebedli, Törőcsik and Lajos Kocsis [all famous Hungarian players from the past], sharing a spritzer after the game. I’m afraid that members of the next generation will be running around the track with a microchip in their brains and will be controlled by the accomplices of Elon Musk, one of the most dangerous people in the world.
A pity for football, it was a great invention.
Title image: In this Sunday, March 7, 2021 file photo, Joan Laporta celebrates his victory after elections at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona president Joan Laporta maintained his support for the Super League on Thursday April 22, 2021, despite the quick exit of 10 of the 12 founding clubs in the breakaway competition. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort, File)
