Manchester United have pledged their commitment to UEFA competitions and the Premier League following a court ruling which appeared to open the door to a European Super League being revived.
Backers of the European Super League declared victory after a court found rules allowing UEFA the right to grant prior approval to new competitions were contrary to EU law.
However, United – who were one of the 12 clubs who founded the controversial Super League in 2021 before withdrawing amid fan protests – say they are committed to the existing competitions.
“Our position has not changed,” the club said in a statement.
“We remain fully committed to participation in UEFA competitions, and to positive co-operation with UEFA, the Premier League, and fellow clubs through the ECA on the continued development of the European game.”
The chief executive of German club Bayern Munich, who refused to join the Super League back in 2021, also gave their support to UEFA.
“We have taken note of the judgement of the European Court of Justice. However, this does not change FC Bayern’s and the ECA’s position that such a competition would be an attack on the importance of the national leagues and the structure of European football,” Jan Christian Dreesen said.
A22, the company formed to assist in the creation of a European Super League, said the binding ECJ ruling means “football is free”.
Since the ECJ announcement A22 has already presented proposals for new “open and meritocratic” men’s and women’s competitions at European level that would clearly directly rival existing UEFA tournaments if ultimately approved.
A22 says fans will be able to watch live matches for free on a streaming platform called Unify, to be paid for through advertising.
Fan groups remain resistant to anything resembling the 2021 Super League, with Football Supporters’ Association chief executive Kevin Miles describing it as “a walking dead monstrosity” and insisting “no English club will be joining”.
European football’s governing body UEFA insisted Thursday’s ruling was not “an endorsement or validation” of the Super League project. It also remains convinced that the authorisation rules it introduced in June 2022 are “robust” and comply with European law.
“We trust that the solidarity-based European football pyramid that the fans and all stakeholders have declared as their irreplaceable model will be safeguarded against the threat of breakaways by European and national laws,” UEFA said.
The Grand Chamber of the ECJ found that where an undertaking such as UEFA holds a dominant position and has the power to determine the conditions in which potentially competing undertakings, such as A22, may access the market, that power must be subject to criteria which are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate.
The court found UEFA and FIFA’s powers were not subject to any such criteria and therefore found both bodies were abusing a dominant position.
FIFA issued a statement taking note of the decision which it said would now be subject to further analysis.
A22 has proposed a new 64-team men’s competition, featuring 16 teams in the Star League, 16 in the Gold League and a 32-team Blue League. The leagues will feature promotion and relegation, with 20 teams qualifying via domestic performance each season into the Blue League, though A22 said more work and dialogue was needed to determine precisely how those 20 teams would qualify.
The women’s competition it proposes features 32 teams split into a Star and Gold League of 16 teams each. In both men’s and women’s competitions, the top eight teams in each league would play a knockout tournament.
Though the judgement has been seized on as success for Super League backers, A22 or any other competition organiser would need to get clubs onside as well as fans.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who was one of the key architects of the 2021 project, said the ruling meant clubs were now “masters of their own destiny”.
The ruling does appear at the very least to give clubs a stronger hand in the future development and governance of competitions, but it remains to be seen whether it leads to reform rather than revolution.
The ruling comes less than a month after the Premier League announced a record-breaking £6.7billion domestic rights deal.
While A22 insists what it proposes is a midweek European competition which would rely on thriving domestic leagues, anything adversely affecting interest in the Premier League’s race for European places could have a commercial impact. The league also relies strongly on competitive balance.
The European Leagues group, which includes the Premier League as a member, issued a statement which said: “The leagues believe in the fundamental principles of openness and qualification for international club competitions via domestic competition annual performances.”
The European Club Association, which jointly runs commercial operations with UEFA for the existing club competitions, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in September which lasts until July 2030. The MoU pledges that ECA members will not join any competition not organised by UEFA.
The ECA’s statement on Thursday said: “The world of football moved on from the Super League years ago and progressive reforms will continue.
“Most importantly, football is a social contract not a legal contract. All the recognised stakeholders of European and world football – spanning confederations, federations, clubs, leagues, players and fans – stand more united than ever against the attempts by a few individuals pursuing personal agendas to undermine the very foundations and basic principles of European football.”
Postecoglou rues missed chances against City as Son squanders decisive opportunity
Ange Postecoglou was left to rue missed chances as Tottenham's Champions League hopes were ended after Tuesday's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Spurs needed three points to take the Premier League's top-four race to the final day but were undone by Pep Guardiola's side, who moved within touching distance of another top-flight title.
Erling Haaland's routine tap-in from Kevin De Bruyne's brilliance after 51 minutes proved a cruel blow before the City striker's stoppage-time penalty sealed a decisive three points.
It could have been a different story, though, if Stefan Ortega – on as a second-half substitute for Ederson – did not deny Heung-min Son's gilt-edged chance following Manuel Akanji's error.
The City goalkeeper denied the onrushing Spurs forward when one-on-one with the visitors 1-0 up, and Postecoglou acknowledged his side failed to seize their opportunities.
"We lost the game so it was a missed chance for three points," the frustrated Tottenham manager told Sky Sports.
"We had the opportunities and we had to punish them. It was a tight game and in the big moments we were not able to capitalise and they were.
"I thought we were in the game the whole time, even at 1-0 we had a great chance to go level.
"In the second half we were chasing the game so they got a little more space but I thought we were well in it up until that point [the second goal]."
Spurs' loss proved Aston Villa's gain as Unai Emery's side qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history, ending a 41-year absence after last featuring in the European Cup in 1982-83.
Postecoglou found it hard to seek the immediate positives, having watched Tottenham fall short and inadvertently damage rivals Arsenal's title hopes in the process.
"We lost the game so I am disappointed," the Australian added, before responding to whether any pride could be taken.
"Not right now because we have lost. We will assess the season, still one more game to go, one more game against Sheffield United and we need to make sure we win.
"I think wherever you finish is a fair reflection of where you are at."
Tottenham will finish outside the top four for the fourth time in the last five seasons, after finishing in the Champions League spots in Mauricio Pochettino’s final four full campaigns in charge (2015-16 to 2018-19).
Postecoglou acknowledged there is still work to do to catch up with England's perennial champions City.
Asked how his side measure up to Guardiola's men, he said: Nothing earth-shattering that I didn't know before the game. We still have some work to do. We need to do some work to catch up."
'One more game, and we can change history' – Rodri knows Man City have one more step to take
Manchester City know they cannot let complacency set in as they aim to make Premier League history, so says Rodri.
City beat Tottenham 2-0 on Tuesday, taking a huge stride towards winning an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title.
Erling Haaland scored twice, with his second – a calmly taken spot-kick in stoppage time – came after a string of fine stops from Stefan Ortega.
City's stand-in goalkeeper replaced the injured Ederson just after the hour mark, and twice denied Dejan Kulusevski before making an exceptional save to prevent Son Heung-min scoring in a one-v-one.
With one game left, City are two points above Arsenal, and Rodri knows the job must now be done against West Ham on Sunday.
"It's unbelievable. For us, it gives us the chance to fight again in the last game," he told Sky Sports.
"We know it's one more game, but you saw the character of the team, of course it wasn't our best performance, but we came here to win – that's what we do. It's the mentality of these guys, the substitutions, Stefan saved us, Jeremy was unbelievable, every player that came in was exceptional.
"This is football. We have the best striker in the world and today he made the difference, but today, Stefan was simply incredible. We were 1-0 up and he made three outstanding saves. I have no words. We want to make history again, but we have one more to come.
"We have the experience from against Aston Villa [in 2022]. We know it's not done. We know it's going to be tough, but if we do it, we can change history."
Kyle Walker echoed the sentiment.
"We know it's not done, but we've taken it down to the last game, in front of our fans," he said. "You have to take each game as it comes."
City are now unbeaten in 22 consecutive Premier League games (W18 D4), including all 18 in 2024 (W15 D3); however, the last two teams to make as long an unbeaten start to a calendar year have failed to go on to win the title in that same year (Liverpool in 2022 – second and Chelsea in 2008 – second).
Pep Guardiola's team will sit top of the Premier League table heading into the final day of the season for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, having gone on to win the title in each of those previous campaigns.
Tottenham 0-2 Manchester City: Haaland's double and Ortega's heroics put Guardiola's side on the brink
Erling Haaland’s double and Stefan Ortega’s superb save saw Manchester City beat Tottenham 2-0 to ensure Pep Guardiola’s team head into the final day of the season leading the Premier League.
Haaland, who had opened the scoring with a tap-in in the 51st minute, slammed in a stoppage-time penalty to send the travelling City supporters into delirium at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday.
That spot-kick followed a wonderful save from substitute goalkeeper Ortega at the other end, who denied Son Heung-min a would-be equaliser on a bizarre night where the home support never truly managed to get fully behind their side, given what was at stake for their rivals Arsenal.
But with Haaland’s double, City – now on 88 points, two clear of Arsenal – are on the cusp of an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title, while Spurs’ Champions League hopes are over.
Ederson was forced into action after just six minutes as Bentancur got on the end of Brennan Johnson’s cutback, with his strike from just outside the penalty area was tipped over by City’s goalkeeper.
The best chance of the half fell to Foden, who – in the 16th minute – latched onto a dismal clearance from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but his close-range volley was superbly kept out by Vicario.
It took City less than two minutes to test Vicario once again after the break as he made an excellent diving save to palm away Kevin De Bruyne’s curling effort from the edge of the box.
But Vicario had no chance four minutes later – Haaland tapping into an empty net after latching onto De Bruyn’s drilled delivery.
Ederson had to be taken off after a nasty clash with Cristian Romero, and while City’s goalkeeper was frustrated, his stand-in Ortega turned in a fantastic cameo.
Having twice denied Dejan Kulusevski from close range, Ortega then stood up brilliantly when one-on-one with Son.
It is a save that might just win City the league – Haaland subsequently making sure of the points after Jeremy Doku was brought down by Pedro Porro, leaving the reigning champions, who face West Ham on Sunday, on the brink of glory again.
De Bruyne provides the spark but Ortega the unlikely hero
When City needed the breakthrough, it was no surprise to see De Bruyne provide it. The Belgian has now provided 10+ assists, the joint-most of any player in Premier League’s history, along with Cesc Fabregas.
De Bruyne has now assisted Haaland 12 times in the Premier League, the most from one player to another in the competition in the last two seasons.
Haaland, meanwhile, is the first City player to score a brace away to Spurs in the Premier League since Edin Dzeko in August 2011.
Yet for the efforts of the attackers, it was Ortega who came up huge with those massive stops, with that save from Son likely to go down in City folklore.
Spurs’ defensive woes continue
City only managed two shots in the opening 45 minutes – only against Aston Villa in December (two) have they had as few shots in the first half of a Premier League game this season.
Yet the hosts eventually came undone, meaning Ange Postecoglou’s team have conceded in each of their last 10 games in the Premier League, their longest run without a clean sheet in the competition since September-December 2019 (also 10).
After failing to secure the three points needed, Tottenham are now unable to catch Villa in fourth place, meaning Unai Emery’s team clinch the final Champions League spot.
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