Football is going through some very difficult times recently, after many years of thinking owning a football club was a license to print money, there have now been massive losses recorded across he board, and the biggest clubs have been the biggest losers since the pandemic stopped paying customers coming through the door.
These losses were used as justification for the decision to create the breakaway Super League, but it would only benefit the richest clubs and do nothing for the less well-supported teams, and there was little surprise that the fans quickly persuaded their owners to back away from the deal.
The great Arsenal legend Arsene Wenger is now working for UEFA so it was not a surprise that Le Prof was asked for his opinion, and this is what he told BeinSports (as transcribed by Football.London): “I would say as a football fan, I was against the Super League project because it ignores what makes football great.”
“The importance of money has become bigger and bigger. Why?”
“Football is unpredictable as a sport, but the money and the recruitment of big players in a set number of teams has made football predictable.
“Take the Champions League semi-finals for example. You have basically the four richest clubs in the world in the semi-final.
“Chelsea, Man City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid and you come back next year, and you’ll have the same again, or maybe Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Manchester United.
“That means clubs like Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa are finished forever, so on top of that, you can’t make a league with even more security.”
I’m not sure I agree with that completely. Yes, There are the usual massively rich clubs that are more likely to be up there in the UCL semifinals, but just think that if West Ham or Leicester finish in the Top Four this season, at least they have a chance to go far in the Champions League next season. Just like non-League clubs can dream about FA Cup glory. There will always be giant-killers and rags-to-riches stories, as long as we have promotion and relegation as a right as well.
In fact, if Aston Villa are finished for ever, then Arsenal are actually below them in the League. Are Arsenal finished for ever as well????