1- How did the clubs arrive at the 12 participants, variously described as the ESL founding members? Was trophy laden history, fan base, Stadium capacity or future prospects the driving force behind being invited to a new sumptuous table of the ‘firsts among equals’. Why ask? Because a team like Tottenham Hotspur has a near empty trophy cabinet this century.
2- Why aren’t Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint Germain, three of the top six clubs in terms of global turnover queueing up to join a rich man’s league guaranteeing a minimum cash windfall of £350m? Can it be assumed they are the other three clubs whose places have been reserved?
3- Given the near universal condemnation the idea of a European Super League has received, is it correct to assume the global game is the last bastion of socialism – in which the small guy takes precedence over rich capitalists’? Would Karl Marx applaud Fifa, Uefa and top five European leagues for rejecting such a money spinning undertaking?
4- Can it be possible that the idea mooted by the world’s richest clubs is a bargaining tool to ensure they get better concessions from European football governing body Uefa during negotiations over a new expanded 36 team, Champions League? After all, all the key players running these clubs are successful businessmen who would know how to drive a hard bargain.
5- Could it all be in a name? What if this ESL was referred to as the International Champions Cup, and admission divorced from the meritocracy of league positions? The answer is that it would clog an already congested calendar. I can almost hear executives of the aforesaid clubs muttering about scrapping League cups for the sake of financial security.
6- How are clubs teetering on the brink of financial ruin like FC Barcelona which is mired in a €1billion debt supposed to reject €350m in cash relief? Shouldn’t these clubs be offered a chance to be heard? Isn’t there any such thing as due process in the beautiful game?
7- Why aren’t heavyweight boxers who organise a series of rematches to maximise profit not condemned with as singular a voice as we are hearing from places as high up as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson? Put another way: what is wrong with multiplying your annual turnover five-fold?
8- Must the mooted European Super League be an alternative to the Uefa Champions League? Can’t the two competitions coexist, in order not to compromise the cash windfall clubs are ogling with libidinous intent? Can’t there be room for all parties at a rendezvous of victory?
