A new-look European Super League (ESL) proposal has today been unveiled.
The competition – which attempted to launch in 2021 with just 12 founding clubs – would now include 60 to 80 teams, have no permanent members, and would guarantee at least 14 matches per season for those involved.
Bernd Reichart, chief executive of A22, the Madrid-based sister company of the ESL, has told the German newspaper Die Welt that the “foundations of European football are in danger of collapsing” and revealed more than 50 clubs have been consulted since October about the creation of a new competition.
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Qualification to a new European Super League would be achieved via performance in each club’s domestic competition.
Reichart also outlined plans for cost control measures that would not allow clubs competing in an ESL to spend more than a fixed percentage of their annual football-related revenue on player salaries and net transfers.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have continued to push for a European Super League since the original attempt to launch a breakaway competition failed.
And the new proposal comes off the back of a January transfer window in which more than a record £815million was splashed out by Premier League clubs.
Chelsea supporters were crucial in bringing down the initial European Super League launch; a protest of around 2,000 fans took place outside of Stamford Bridge ahead of a Premier League clash with Brighton in April 2021.
Any future decision as to whether Chelsea sign up for a European Super League is now in the hands of Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, and Jose E.
Meanwhile, the evolution of the Champions League – which will use the “Swiss model” from the 2024/25 season – guarantees at least 10 matches for those involved.
“I never say hard nos, I like to keep options alive, but it [joining a European Super League] is not something that we are talking about at all,” Boehly said at the SALT Conference in September.
He told football.london: “I think the sport needs more premium high-quality matches and content but it doesn’t have to be a Super League.
 proposal has today been unveiled. The competition – which attempted to launch in 2021 with just 12 founding clubs – would now include 60 to 80 teams, have no permanent members, and would guarantee at least 14 matches per season for those involved.){kind=link}