Andrea Agnelli had better times. – Miguel Medina / AFP
SOS of a president in distress. The Super League has “never been an attempted coup” but “a cry of alarm”, assured Friday the boss of Juventus, Andrea Agnelli, one of the last to carry the project. This project competing for the Champions League was presented in April by twelve English, Spanish and Italian clubs. He is now only defended by Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and, including the Turin club.
It was “a cry of despair for a system which, consciously or unconsciously, is heading towards insolvency”, estimated the president bianconero during a press conference on the occasion of the departure of the sports director of the club Fabio Paratici , after eleven years marked by nine Italian league titles (2012 to 2020).
“For years, I tried to change European competitions from the inside, because the signs of crisis were evident even before the coronavirus pandemic,” added Andrea Agnelli. He was, until April, the president of the clubs union (ECA) and member of the decision-making bodies of UEFA, before resigning by launching the Super League project.
Mutineers still “determined”
While the last three rebel clubs face sanctions from the governing body of European football, Agnelli has attacked the “hurtful words” and “arrogant methods” of UEFA.
“It is not with this type of behavior that reforms football,” he said, recalling that Real, Barça and Juve remained “determined” to obtain a reform.