Former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has name checked Celtic as part of his tirade against the current European football structure.
The chat of a European Super League won't go away and the Italian is an advocate for such plans that were hounded out by fans in 2021. Both the Old Lady and La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid have remained strong in their hopes for plans that would break off from the current UEFA system of the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League, despite fierce opposition. New plans for the revolution include a mix of 60-80 teams with promotion and relegation, and an equal cash share.
Speaking to Dutch site De Telegraaf, he's named Celtic as one of the clubs who don't benefit from the current system that already has a ESL-like division in the Premier League residing within it. He explained: "In 2019 we were ready, Aleksander (Ceferin, UEFA president) and I. The top clubs from all ECA subdivisions had agreed on a new format but Ceferin backed down. The clubs were defending a European football system revamped and improved. When UEFA drew a line below that, plans were made outside of UEFA to organize a new league with all ECA clubs.
“Only the Premier League grows and grows and is already a glorified Super League. They raise €4 billion a year, Spain around half, Germany €1.5 billion and the Netherlands €100 million, English dominance threatens European football.
"Whether it finally takes off will depend on the European Court of Justice. Internally (within UEFA) it was a war, which I could not win., offered no future for Ajax, Anderlecht, Celtic, Benfica, Panathinaikos and Red Star Belgrade. Therefore, you don't stay put but take other paths. UEFA's monopoly must be broken to give the clubs a financially stable future.
"A future where they will not fall if they do not once qualify for European football. With my 13 years of experience in football, I know how things work.
"I've collected ideas and I say it's time for fairer leagues, not leagues determined solely by trade, by the markets where the most money is spent. We should aim for more sports democracy."
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