Find out the men behind the failed Superliga Project | International football

• Atletico, Juventus, Milan and Inter confirm their departure from the Super League, and the Vice President admits the end of the project

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham. Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid. Inter Milan, Juventus and AC Milan. These were the founding clubs of the Premier League.

“They” were because English clubs had already surrenderedAnd the As well as Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Juventus and Milan. Negative repercussions that occurred The competition has been suspended. Barcelona, ​​the only survivor with Real Madrid, will only continue if their partners agree.

Two 12 clubs are mentioned, 11 among the 14 richest in Europe At the end of last season, According to a survey by the British consulting firm Deloitte. Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund If they had accepted the invitation, they would all have been. Milan ranked 30th in the last standings.

A third of the (former) members of this “Premier League” are owned by North American investors. In another three clubs, a foreigner from another country gives orders. Only three have a “100% national” representative. And two operate under the partner model.

Despite the imminent collapse of the project, the question remains: Who gave the papers to create the Premier League?

The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, is a central figure. He is also the captain of the Premier League (if he continues to exist). The Spaniard has always advocated for the competition, but the first time he spoke publicly about it was in December, During the general assembly meeting of Real’s partners.

Florentino Perez, in his last appearance on Monday on the “El Chiringuito” program, said that the Premier League “will save football”, that sport “needs to develop”, and that “the youth are no longer interested” in the championship. Game. He also used the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic as an argument.

Re-elected last weekPerez is expected to remain in power until 2025. He has been in power for nearly 20 years. He is the ACS Group representative in the construction industry and a world leader in infrastructure. Its assets are valued at more than $ 2.2 billion.

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His supporting role is Italian Andrea Agnelli, Juventus President and Superliga Vice President. He has been in charge of the Italian club since 2011, similar to the lineage of grandfather Eduardo II. The family owns 63.8% of Juventus through the holding company Exor NV. Agnelli’s empire ranges from the automotive industry (which founded Fiat) to football.

Andrea Agnelli He was president of the European Club Federation (ECA) until last week. He even collaborated for New UEFA Champions League format. But he resigned due to the Premier League project. Was considered leaving Peer betrayal.

Our 12 founding clubs represent billions of fans around the world and 99 European titles. We have come together at this crucial moment, to change the competition in Europe – Agnelli said, in the Superliga launch statement.

He also left the UEFA Executive Committee. By the way, Angeli also has strong personal relationships with Alexander Ceferin, president of the union – Angelie’s daughter has Severin who is her godfather.

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North American influence

Speaking of family, Manchester United has the Glazers as major shareholders, with 74.9% of the club’s shares. Businessmen in the United States have a fortune that Forbes magazine $ 4.7 billion. The Glazer also owns Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the latest NFL champion, the NFL.

Joel Glazer is the Vice President of the Super League and an enthusiast of the project. But Ed Woodward, Manchester’s executive vice president, led the negotiations. Woodward Expect his departure from office In the midst of a crisis. He also collaborated for the “new champions” during the termination of the Superleague deal, maliciously.

Like Glazer, Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke is also from the US and has an NFL franchise to call: LA Rams. Total assets estimated at $ 8.2 billion. The Denver Nuggets of the NBA is his own, but is named after his wife Anne Walton. Its wealth mainly consists of real estate and sporting franchises.

His compatriot John Henry owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team. His company, Fenway Sports Group, controls 100% of Liverpool’s shares. Before Demonstration by fans and players against the Premier League, It was impossible to continue on the set.

Liverpool confirms that our participation in the proposed plans to form the European Premier League has stopped. In recent days, the club has received endorsements from various partners, both internal and external, and we would like to thank them for their contributions – the club announced, in a brief note.

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In one fell swoop, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool He gave up the Premier League, and Tottenham were gone. The London Club has the largest shareholder (85.55%), the British investment company ENIC International Limited, and its owner is Joe Lewis.

Despite not being a champion of the Champions League or the previous European Cup – And he hasn’t won anything in 13 years – Tottenham have been invited to the group. As a result of President Daniel Levy in office for 20 years. It was up to him to explain the exit method.

We felt it was important for Tottenham to participate in the development of a potential new structure that better ensures financial fair play and sustainability, while also providing more support for the football pyramid – Levy declared.

Among the Superliga members, Tottenham was the hardest hit economically last season: £ 970m in debt.

Milan is the fourth club on the list with American as a major contributor. Paul Singer owns Elliott Management investment fund, which owns 99.93% of the Italian club’s shares. Day-to-day running the foundation is South African CEO Evan Gazidis.

In a letter sent to club sponsors on Tuesday and published by Gazzetta dello Sport, Gazidis said that the Premier League would be “a new chapter in the history of football”, “capturing the imagination of billions of fans.” Milan withdrew the same day, According to information from the Italian press.

The Internazionale competitor must follow the same path. The club’s largest shareholder is now Suning Group, with 68.55%. The industrial group is owned by Chinese billionaire Zhang Jindong, but the boss of Inter is his son, Steven Zhang, who is only 29 years old.

In addition to Inter Milan, there are two other Superliga “founders” who are foreign and non-American. Chelsea is 100% owned by Russian Roman Abramovich. Manchester City is a member of the City Football Group, 77% of which is owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (United Arab Emirates).

If Abramovi is acting aggressively in the management of Chelsea, then in the case of Manchester City the responsibility lies more with Spaniard Ferran Soriano, the club’s chief executive. It also defends Expanding the group’s brand through a conglomerate.

Chelsea and City were the first to leave the Premier League, Before Pressure from public opinion, With street protests, and moves by the UK government to stop the initiative.

Only Barcelona and Real are on the boat

Among the Spaniards, Atletico Madrid joined the group of dropouts noting to maintain harmony with fans and professional actors, while Barcelona says they will wait for the opinion of the partners. Hence, only Real Madrid are still assertive in the face of Florentino Perez’s strong hand.

Lawyer Joan Laporta returned to the presidency of Barcelona early last month (He was in the position between 2003 and 2010). Laporta is also a businessman and politician: a former member of the Catalan parliament and a councilor in Barcelona. At the end of 2013, he and seven other board members were ordered to indemnify Barcelona with € 23 million for irregularities in the financial statement.

But the process of Barcelona entering the Premier League was led by Joseph Bartomeu, Who resigned as president in October last year In the midst of a historical crisis, Messi’s request to leave the club and the Blame Movement were merited by more than 20,000 members. Laporta signed the contract.

But according to “TV3”, Barcelona included in the agreement a clause in which it is entitled to consult its members about participating in the competition, without the need to pay any fines.

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Little has been said about Atletico Madrid, whose largest shareholder (50%) is Miguel Angel Gil Marin, executive director of football and ranchers who has been the club’s CEO since 1993. Miguel was sentenced in 2004 for fraud during the process of converting the club into a companyBut, you don’t have to spend time in jail. The head of Atlético is Enrique Cerezo, who controls 15% of the foundation’s capital.

* The information on the characteristics of the 12 clubs of the European Super League was obtained after consulting the Institute for Sport Intelligence of the International Center for Sports Intelligence (CIES Sports Intelligence).

** This report also obtained information from Agence France-Presse