Sven-Goran Eriksson urges European Super League clubs to reconsider

By Sammy Wynne | 20 April 2021

Sven-Goran Eriksson urges Super League clubs to reconsider

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson hits out at the 12 clubs who have signed up to the European Super League and urges them to reconsider their plans.

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has urged the 12 clubs who have signed up to the European Super League to reconsider their plans.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus have agreed to a breakaway league against the football authorities' advice.

UEFA has threatened that they will ban all the players of those clubs from playing for their national teams in UEFA's international competitions.

Eriksson has become the latest high-profile figure to condemn the Super League, and told ITV: "It's nothing new because if you remember many, many years ago, it was talked about, creating a Super League and at that time, the Swedish president of UEFA Lennart Johansson, he saved European football, in my opinion, because he created the new Champions League.

"Before, the European Cup, as it was called, had only one team from every country in Europe, but Lennart Johansson and his people at UEFA, they started that England and Spain and Italy and so on could have four teams in the new Champions League, and that changed a lot.

"Now we are there again, but instead of creating a new Super League, go to the table, sit down and talk about how to make the Champions League of today better. That's the way to do it."

The former manager claimed that he is doubtful whether the Super League will go ahead because of the controversy it has already caused.

"I don't know what's going to happen, but I can see that something will happen and something will be changed. But that six, 12 teams in Europe, or 20 teams you're talking about, would create their own league? I can't see that. I can absolutely not see it and I strongly say, 'No, don't do it' because that will take away the dream of football," he added.

"Gothenburg, a Swedish team, 30 years ago, they played a semi-final against Barcelona and they beat Barcelona in Gothenburg. People still talk about that game 30 years after because that was a highlight of Swedish football, beating Barcelona. Don't take away that dream for everyone who loves football."

Super League president Florentino Perez has insisted that the clubs' agreement to join the new competition is "binding".