FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has received another blow in his support for the European Super League (ESL).
The project remains on the agenda for Joan Laporta, with the Blaugrana chief open to the idea of involving the club in a reformatted competition in the coming years. Laporta has confirmed his intention to keep FC Barcelona within the ESL, alongside Real Madrid.
The refusal of Premier League clubs and other major European powers to join has not dampened his confidence in the eventual creation of a version of the ESL. Laporta said other clubs would be contacted for possible membership, with the list including teams from across the continent.
OM invited but…
“Inter Milan, Napoli, AS Roma, any team in the Spanish league (can join) except Atletico Madrid, which has another position“, according to quotes from Cadena SER. “ Olympique de Marseille, the three Portuguese teams Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Porto, the three Dutch teams Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV and the two Belgian teams Anderlecht and Club Brugge.
Although Laporta listed names of teams likely to be involved in the new A22-backed plans, his optimism was dismissed by the majority of names involved, in another blow to the ESL. “ The club declares that it has never reviewed its position on the subject nor has it maintained dialogue to embark on a path different from that of the ECA,” according to an official press release from AS Roma. Similar reports have been published in France and the Netherlands, rejecting the involvement of Marseille and Ajax, with the English teams determined to remain within the current UEFA/ECA model.
