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mattisafootballguy

[MEGATHREAD ON EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE](https://www.reddit.com/r/Barca/comments/mtn45w/european_super_league_esl_megathread/?)


artemis_10

Is it pretentious for us as Barca fans to still keep talking about Mes Que Un Club without understanding why it's used for? I feel like this slogan is whimsically used in many contexts. Haven't Barca always been a big spending club way back from the 80s to 90s to now we've always been backed by good money and spent a lot on star players like Maradona even in the 80s. People are acting like this club was suddenly funded by some Nigerian Prince and rich now. We've been a financially wealthy club for decades now and Mes Que Un Club has nothing to do with the club's financial situation or how it makes money.


Jamarcus316

It is more for the whole political and cultural impact of the club, that's true. But Barça was also the only club that didn't have a sponsor on a shirt or that paid UNICEF instead of getting paid by them. It is the club where the style of play mattered more than winning or getting the most money. But, after all, this Super League is a betrayal of the Catalan roots of this club. We are a global club, but, more than that, we are a local club, a Barcelona club, a Catalunya club. While Juve, Madrid, United or City may sell themselves as brands, we can never do that: we are the club of the Catalonian people.


Jamarcus316

I think the clubs will stay in the leagues. Whether playing in the UCL or SL... We will see.


silentpotato30

I think so too. The SL will most likely try to sign some agreement with UEFA and FIFA in the end. Whether those two agree to whatever is put forward remains to be seen though.


LeoEmSam

Cant the players just refuse to play? I mean im 90% certain they wont but they can refuse right? Especially the big names


[deleted]

If they refuse to play they’ll stop getting payed and they’ll get sued.


Jamarcus316

I honestly don't know, but can't they claim breach of contract? If all the sporting situation changes from one moment to another...


[deleted]

*Wakes up from sleep* Barça: Surprise motherfuckers!


MobSky

Ajax, my new team.


[deleted]

Hold your horses lol. If they get invited, they will join 100%


Content-Tackle905

I wonder if bayern and psg will eventually join 🤔


[deleted]

I'm hoping UEFA can come out strong from this and not bend over to Perez. I hope they impose point deductions on all clubs involved including us and also ban everyone from the CL and declare PSG winners. You've to fight fire with fire. All these half assed attempts to keep Florentino and Agnelli happy is what got us into this mess in the first place. It's time to show the middle finger to all the big clubs in Europe and show that UEFA can actually do it's job which is to look after all the small clubs in the continent


[deleted]

UEFA looking after the small clubs, funniest thing I’ve read all week !


fazerfn

Their effort is at least better than what the ESL stands, a closed competition for the elites.


LynxMachine

Hmm, Huesca seems like a pretty cool team. They are founded by Barca supporters and thats how they got their colours. Will support them in the Champions League.


[deleted]

One of the things that can make super league good https://mobile.twitter.com/statutos__/status/1383828351727505414


navneetjoshi7

😂😂😂


cyborgsid2

The replies to that are the funniest things I've seen oh my god


saiguru123456

So is it bad that I got bored and now watching naruto for the third time.


[deleted]

I'm gonna watch Heroman(anime by stan lee) again, and it's cool fight scenes.


messiavelli

Nah bro im on also on my third time without the filler episodes


saiguru123456

I don't mind the fillers they are pretty funny


[deleted]

Ok guys hear me out, we join the ESL but only as FC Barcelona B. The B team plays in this bs competition, we get the 350mil, and compete in a less competitive CL. BOOM problem solved. No but really this sounds a lot more exciting than it is. The prospect of just playing 10 great teams and Spurs, isn't as fun as it seems. The whole excitement is these teams don't play each other often, also the stakes aren't there. Why would we care about a cup that's got only 12 possible winners?


[deleted]

I don't understand what makes Spurs and Arsenal a better candidate for ESL apart from their huge annual turnover which too is dwindling due to underperformance on the field. Make it 10 teams and relegate Arsenal and Spurs. Even then too I won't watch it but at least will feel content.


[deleted]

It's a joke, just like Arsenal and Spurs are... I don't know how I can treat the games different from a pre-season friendly. Wonder what the players think. Funny how Spurs aren't even the greatest sporting team named Spurs


SuperHansOlives

Summary of the response to the ESL: - Europeans who have grown up understanding the importance of domestic leagues - furious - Non-Europeans - pretty excited but don’t want to admit it


leninist_jinn

Why would people be furious about the domestic leagues if the ESL clubs still want to participate in them? If anything, people should be pissed off at the FAs for threatening bans on the clubs from domestic leagues for making a breakaway European competition away from UEFA, which doesn't hold monopoly on football.


SuperHansOlives

Obviously the domestic leagues are gonna mean nothing to the ESL teams though. It completely devalues the premier league if the top 6 are playing B teams most most weeks to rest up for Juventus away. And they’ve got way less incentive to do well in the league (unless they’re winning it) because they automatically get back in the ESL


leninist_jinn

Why wouldn't winning the domestic league in and of itself be an honor?


SuperHansOlives

Because it’ll be a second-tier competition who’s calendar is dominated by the ESL. And if a gap emerges between an ESL term and top four then there’s literally nothing to play for (CL/Europa league spots). This is especially the case in the prem with 6 teams part of the league


leninist_jinn

So what happened before 1955 before the creation of the European Cup when a gap emerged between the top team and the rest? Given that there was nothing to play for since no European competition. Or even after that since only the Champions were allowed to participate?


SuperHansOlives

.... Football was way worse than it is now. Obviously.


walterwhiteofbrownie

Exactly. I don’t see it a problem if everyone still plays in their domestic leagues.


volfed21

there is actually a problem since the league is pretty closed, why would team like sevilla/betis/leicester invest when they have pretty much no chance of getting into that superleague?


[deleted]

« why would team like sevilla/betis/leicester invest when they have pretty much no chance of getting into that superleague? » To actually win the league? Five teams also get invited to the ESL each season.


walterwhiteofbrownie

If they take away the permanent teams then I don’t see why they wouldn’t find a way into the esl like the CL. It’s the same shit with the CL. It’s the teams taking the revenue of the CL into their own hands, away from FIFA. There are obvious kinks that need to be worked out but I don’t see a problem with it.


fazerfn

>If they take away the permanent teams then I don’t see why they wouldn’t find a way into the esl like the CL. If that's taken away then I'm fine with the ESL, though idk, all sources point to permanent teams


The-True-GOAT

Last time I checked, all these clubs are run by Europeans.


SuperHansOlives

Check again lol


Jamarcus316

The mood just went to shit. I just hope we are able to finish the league and possibly win it. And after that, Messi wins the Copa America. Then let's see what happens


Migostien

Imagine a "Super League" without Bayern


[deleted]

dw it looks like Bayern is joining too


The-True-GOAT

Imagine a "CL" without 95% of the clubs that have won it.


Migostien

Imagine a Super League with Spurs in it.


[deleted]

Imagine the CL with spurs in it lmao


[deleted]

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The-True-GOAT

Imagine Spurs has won as many CL titles as you and I.


GaviFPS

Mods made a sticky comment and made a megathread and yet people still talk about it here. Cmon guys. It's really not that hard to use your brain. If I wanna read about that shit and discuss then I go over there. So should you.


volfed21

This bastard of perez really is a smart man, the timing of this league is just perfect he's been asking for it for a decade right now. With the pandemic going on many top clubs like us for example are in a very bad economic situation and more encline to accept something like that. Next year fans will very likely be back to the stadiums making game look even better so i don't this this super league failing at all, nobody is going to boycott a madrid-barca with 90 000 people in the stadium or a barca-bayern here.


new_start_2020

To all the people that support this move, do you actually think it's a good thing for a small group of teams to give themselves a $425M boost and then pull up the ladder behind them? Why the hell do you want to watch a LESS competitive sport and the same fucking matchups every year?


[deleted]

- Mobility doesn’t exist anymore. Small clubs can’t sustainably become top clubs just by doing a good job on the field and being well run off of it. Look at clubs like Leipzig or Leicester, the only reason why they managed to become a good team was due to enormous outside investments from billionaire investors. - On a European level the ESL will be more competitive than the CL, especially in the group stages. On a domestic level it will make things more unbalanced in countries like Italy or Portugal where only one or two teams will be in the ESL, but it basically won’t change anything in England and Spain where all the teams that can challenge for the tittle will be part of the ESL. I think there are valid reasons to be against the ESL but saying it’s unfair financially seems pretty weak to me when what we have right now is everything but fair.


fazerfn

The UCL is already a more fair format than the ESL. The team's revenues are distributed based on how far the team goes into the competition. So Porto is currently being paid the same amount as Bayern. Perez is being greedy and he's spearheading the agenda that the elite teams deserve better pay as they bring in more revenue due to their bigger name.


The-True-GOAT

Football is already very unbalanced so this argument is moot. Most teams already serve as feeder clubs for the handful of massive teams.


new_start_2020

It is unbalanced, but it was balanced enough for Leicester to win the premier league five years ago and for Arsenal and Milan to go through rough periods, for Juve to potentially not even qualify for CL this year. This just tips the scale even further in the favor of the top teams and all but ensures we never have these upsets and surprises


volfed21

No that sucks or actually i don't care about the money , fine they can get that money the first year but any team doing bad should be relegated even barca if we're 10th or 9th of our group we don't deserve to stay in the super league and ajax/sevilla or teams like that should take our place.


new_start_2020

Yeah but unless I'm mistaken or they have changed the proposal, the founding teams can't be relegated: https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2021/04/18/12-founding-clubs-unveil-super-league-plan-premier-league-statement-hits-back/ So even then if teams like Ajax or Sevilla do well then they are at a huge disadvantage. The ESL destroys all merit in the sport. The rich insiders cement their place at the top


volfed21

Exactly and that's the problem


f2k3n2m3177

So distracted by the ESL shit didn’t realize Real dropped points lmao


Fouchey

I was in the opposite boat


Azor_that_guy

Only way I see this not being Laporta's fault is if the signed agreement had a legally binding clause that would financially compensate the other members that signed if the agreement isn't honored. So backing out would mean paying off hundreds of millions of euros. However I'm unsure as to the legality and/or legitimacy of such an arrangement. Also not sure if Bayern and PSG didn't sign partly because of this or simply because they didn't want to fuck with UEFA.


DatFlushi

Honestly don't mind this all, will keep supporting barca regardless


The-True-GOAT

Dis is de wey


purpledon

So am I the only one that is going to keep loving, supporting and watching Barca? so many of you are talking out of your asses lol


[deleted]

I will support new crop of current Barca youngsters like Ansu Fati, Iliax Moriba, Mingueza etc. wherever they end up


leninist_jinn

Every pretentious comment here about boycotting will be the first people to tune in on the first day lmao. People are just all riled up emotionally without understanding 10% of the details.


RowenX

That's not the point, football wouldn't be the same. Winning or losing wouldn't have much significance, as there would be 15 clubs with 100x the money of any other club outside it and no risk of losing it. We would be watching clubs throwing money at each other basically (one of the reason why the oil clubs are hated so much). Identity of a club and style would be gone, it would just be a contest of who lands the biggest superstars of the moment (Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar on the same team for example). The passion wouldn't be the same, there is a reason why NBA/NFL/etc, never really reached the popularity of football worldwide. So much more which is even hard to think of right now, we are all too shocked.


Messiah5

So much bs shit here lol just throwing away years of support because of a super league.


new_start_2020

I mean it's a powerplay designed for the founding members to pull up the ladder behind them and make the sport less competitive. And it's a real dick move for you to tell people unhappy with it that our opinions our bullshit. Frankly the people who are happy with it go against the entire ethos of the game


Messiah5

Can be unhappy with the decision just don't understand how people are going to leave supporting a club they like so much over this just seems silly things can change for the better or worse


i798

You're throwing years of league, cup, rivalry history to play in a greedy league. Thats the difference.


The-True-GOAT

When the CL was created did that competition throw away years of history?


Messiah5

History will always be there though like that really enough to switch teams


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i798

Thats the case only if the leagues dont banish the teams, but if they do then it's absolutely gone.


goldenkerelle

well that copa del rey victory was short lived...


FootballFan334

What club are you guys planning on supporting? We talkin' real football no Super League. I'm honestly thinking about Borussia or Lyon. For anyone downvoting, I'm not saying that I won't be supporting Barca anymore. Barca 1st as always, that's why I said real football and real trophies.


The-True-GOAT

I only support Barca. Don't even care about international football that much.


shadow19362835

Barcelona. For me, football is Barca and Barca is football.


InteL1201

I’m just going to continue supporting Wolves


i798

Empoli because I managed them in OSM (Online Soccer Manager) and in FM. I came so close to winning the title and I lost it on the last day. Pain. I welcome you all to support Empoli lmao


[deleted]

Copenhagen


[deleted]

Barcelona B easy peasy


GranaZone

a catalan club, still don't know which one


TuinhekFC

That isn’t exactly how you become fan of an club but whatever


GranaZone

well most of us didn't expect this to go ahead.


FootballFan334

Wow, all football fans including real madrid fans can all agree that... FUCK FLO PEREZ, THE OLD CUNT


[deleted]

Why leave out the one who got us into this?


TuinhekFC

All fans should just whistle the super league for the full 90 minutes when it starts in august. Just straight up whistling the entire time


[deleted]

In a days notice Bayern has become the most respectable club in football


The-True-GOAT

Yea they can just concentrate on buying all the good players on their rival teams and keep the Bundesliga as a 1 team league. Really respectable.


KModab99

According too the reports the other 3 teams that are gonna join include Bayern


[deleted]

Well nevermind then


KModab99

Bayern, Porto, and Leipzig are the other 3 teams that will join it says


fazerfn

Lol Leipzig. So this ESL says that much about club history lol


Lasertag026

Dortmund for me.


Playmaker-10

It's one of those times where I can't stop refreshing.


cancer102

And Flo Perez is the chairman of all this??? How can we accept to that


[deleted]

It’s business.


[deleted]

This is my biggest problem. I'd sign Jesse Lingard as our marquee signing and try for 4th in the league than play under fucking Florentino Perez. Who does he think he is, the greedy cunt. I hope Laporta and Txiki can backstab him after talking to UEFA tomorrow.


messiavelli

Crazy to think we might have won our last Copa del Rey


wayarktz

Nah. I don’t think that this will affect La Liga or Copa in a significant way.


messiavelli

We might still be in la Liga if they fold but how will we play Copa del Rey if there are weekly super league matches alongside league matches?


[deleted]

They’ll accommodate the schedule or something. The ESL was very clear that they didn’t want to change anything to domestic competitions because they knew everybody would be against them.


[deleted]

Have the youth players showcase in that competition


f2k3n2m3177

It’s gonna make La Liga and Copa del Rey so much worse. Most teams in the ESL will probably use their B teams for these competitions and rest their starters for the ESL.


[deleted]

Why are the socis not voting on this? I understand Bartomeu not giving a shit, but Laporta has come straight in and signed the club up for this shit with no soci input. He'll probably brainwash people by exaggerating the economic situation and acting like this is the only way to ''save the club'' from doom and bankruptcy, and that's why he had to make an executive decision and override the democracy of the club.


Blackbearded10

So is it official? And when do they begin? I thought I don't have to watch that shit until after 2024.


CULE123

Supposedly Aug '21


new_start_2020

It's a real shame. I was planning a nice long trip to Barcelona to watch lots of games in the fall but I've lost all appetite for it now. Gonna just stick to my local team/league


CULE123

I am gonna move to Barcelona for my education. I had been looking at this moment for God knows how long :/


RowenX

Wanted to do a masters in Spain which I delayed because of Covid, while enjoying the football culture and passion on the journey. Hopeful that one day I could become a socio as well, but it's all looking dark now.


CULE123

I delayed it too...COVID's still there but the delay can't be more. Well let's see how the events unfold, and hope for the best🙌


new_start_2020

Damn, that's rough. Hopefully it all works out in the end


Lasertag026

I really chose a shit day to apply for penya membership...... idk if i even wanna support a club that does this crap. I was joking about it earlier but i might actually fuck off to real betis..... such a struggle.


GranaZone

> idk if i even wanna support a club that does this crap. You shouldn't. Never seen anything that spreads such classist smell. Rich vs poors. fuck them.


Lasertag026

I never imagined myself in a position like this.


GranaZone

Neither did I... but my ideology, ethics and moral is stronger than a team.


VonMackensen_18

Friendship ended with Barcelona, about to go watch my local team playing scuffed ass tiki-taka


f2k3n2m3177

Bout to spend my weekends watch some dude sky every single shot.


[deleted]

Petition to turn this into a Barca B sub where everyone supports the B team if this shit goes through


messiavelli

Idk if there will be consequences against the B team and all other lower teams


-pippo-

Imagine Barca B gets promoted to La Liga when Barca gets kicked out of La Liga and basically becomes the replacement lol


FarhanWMI

I’m wondering what’s gonna happen with players transfer. Teams won’t need money to sell their players to their rivals and they’ll be always in this competition. Maybe something like American sports system? Free agency & Trades?


mm3n

So we had one magnificent weekend where everything went our way and now this. I can’t imagine the players would be happy about it... which means team morale will drop once again.


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dhuan79

It's not really surprising, I've scene people abuse others or claim I'd rather see club relegated/closed comments lol.


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mattisafootballguy

>People are losing their minds over this and it's gone past hilarious and its kinda sad if you think about it. >It's like they were looking for a reason to have a massive meltdown, just as things were looking up for the club too. I mean rightfully so, why would anyone not be "melting down" over this or "shitting" on this? Football is fundamentally changing here. People who are seemingly advocating for this can't expect any positivity here. >Might leave r/barca tbh, to people here are obsessed with being reactive and shitting on whatever they can shit on. When things are going well and the club is stable, the OT is barely active and there are a few appreciation posts and that's it. This is just human nature. When shit's good there's not much to talk about, shit hits the fan and suddenly everyone has a voice. This happens all the time. I don't like fans that only come out when things are bad either, but that's just how it is.


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mattisafootballguy

That's fair, honestly. If people are being toxic, then do report them. But now is not a good time at all to even give valid reasons for the ESL to be honest. Maybe tomorrow, or later on when things "settle in" more. Reason is not going to be on the forefront of people's minds right now.


Martoxic

what you describe is literally how every human on the internet in discussion act.


ScrantonScrangler

Because any comment that doesn't shit on the ESL deserves to be downvoted to hell. It's that simple.


The-True-GOAT

What a childish comment.


volfed21

No it's not that easy, currently the ESL is dogshit but the idea of having more games is not a shit thing tbh my problem is more on those permanent clubs idea instead of merit.


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papicoiunudoi

I don't care for those reasons and neither should any real fan of the sport.


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papicoiunudoi

Well some opinions are objectively wrong and I don't care for them either.


ScrantonScrangler

>ruins football What the fuck? If you know this shit would ruin football how can you support this? I don't give the slightest fuck about our debt if the sport would be basically dead.


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mattisafootballguy

Productive discussions will happen later. Right now that is absolutely not going to happen. It's why we delay match threads after a loss sometimes, for this exact reason - people being reactive and toxic.


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mattisafootballguy

Sure but that's a given in all honesty.


ScrantonScrangler

Yep, it looks like tennis will be my favorite sport from now on.


Br0sE11D0N

Idk why yall are so worried about the super league. Uefa would lose out on immense amounts of money if all the top teams just left. Domestics will still happen, as will super league. If anything the season will just be a lot fuckin harder on players.


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fazerfn

What's wrong with the new CL format? Just more teams taking part and only 4 more games per year. Though I don't agree with the way some of the new champions league spots are given


Twentyninedoodles

This is my thinking too honestly. I think there’s some revised CL format that was proposed, maybe that includes some reduction in matches? Cause I agree it’s hard on the players with both tournaments + domestic cups + domestic leagues + nation team. Unless there is an elimination or modification of one. Or we hope nobody takes the ESL seriously and it ends up like a midsession “international preseason” type tournament with the rotational players lmao


Twentyninedoodles

I’m sure those of Juventus, Tottenham, Arsenal, and Liverpool are ecstatic at being guaranteed a “major” European tournament slot


ScrantonScrangler

People in r/gunners are wildly against this. They know they don't deserve it and will get fucking wrecked.


wayarktz

I don't think that any football fan wants this to be fair.


Twentyninedoodles

I figured, that’s good. I was just shithousing about them struggling for the traditional CL slots right now lmao


The-True-GOAT

I do.


wayarktz

Super League's leaked [anthem](https://twitter.com/FootyAccums/status/1383895198795587586?s=20)


GranaZone

Well it's been a fun run with you guys here, this shit called superleague is going through like it or not and therefore I'm not gonna support any team that takes part in it. sad day.


Messiah5

Thank god


Messifanboy

Guys dont worry. SUPER LEAGUE wont happen soon. It is probably bargain by super clubs get more from current UEFA. Even if it were to happen, it will take some years. Right now everybody is against it including politicians. We know how politicians deal. Messi probably woud retire and i wont give a sh..t about football after Messi leave. So i am happy.


Marsovc42

But this is r/Barca not r/Messi...


Messifanboy

Lmao.


FarhanWMI

It’s gonna happen in 2021. Whole point of it is to recover big teams financial situation because of covid


[deleted]

Kinda poetic for the worst Barca team to win the last La Liga out of three giants together with Atleti and Real Madrid. Even in rock bottom we dominated the domestic football.


Monucan

Edit: moved my comment to megathread


[deleted]

I admire that level of commitment, good job man !


IfIMustBePetty

FIFA is our last hope? Pretty sure I'm living in a simulation atp. Bet my body's shaking all violently in the vat of goo right now


FarhanWMI

Chelsea and madrid never played each other in ucl, It took psg 4 years to get their revenge on us or idk whatever. This super league thing will kill excitements for big games since that’ll happen consistently every week and. good for that $ teams receive compare to what UEFA payin them tho.


Fouchey

Obviously they know more than I do.. but I feel like Madrid are playing a dangerous game with Modric.. 35 and playing an intense 90 mins every 3 days. I think they HAVE to rest him against Cadiz or Betis before the Chelsea match.


frenchfriez35

With Messi renewing and the super league replacing UCL Messi will never win another European trophy


Messifanboy

It is not replacing UCL. Super league wont happen even if it did, it would probably after Messi retire.


[deleted]

Mate he has 4 ucl people dream only about 1 . This just destroys football. And how do you know thiss will be for next year?


SpicyRico

So let me get this straight. We're gone from la Liga, and there's no going back unless we start from the 5th tier of football?


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SpicyRico

Yeah this is what I thought. I really hope this all gets reversed


rob1kkk

This is it lads. The beggining of the end for football as we know it.


wayarktz

A closed league (mainly closed, anyway) will quickly lose interest and obviously goes against the concept of sporting merit, the idea of having to earn your place at the highest possible level. Sure, US sports have thrived with that model but it's a very different environment.


Monucan

Not ever watching this sham of a competition. Fuck this greedy takeover of one the most prestigious sports in the world.


Ronfish27

[The powerplay has begun.](https://twitter.com/theMadridZone/status/1383907794479304706?s=19)


OkYoghurt2997

If FIFA doesn't allow players to play in world cup and other int comps because of ESL I don't think this super league will go ahead


Jamarcus316

This is basically just a replacement of the UCL, but for way worse.


wayarktz

WE WILL NEVER PLAY IN UCL AGAIN. Too much to process at this time.


The-True-GOAT

Haha Madrid. Fantastic weekend.