BORUSSIA DORTMUND have snubbed the renegade European Super League.
But while the Bundesliga giants have rejected the unpopular proposals, two French sides are reportedly set to join.
Money-grabbing plans for the new league have been widely slammed by fans across Europe.
The competition could start as soon as NEXT SEASON with the 15 founding clubs signing up for 23 YEARS.
Last night, the Prem Big Six alongside Spanish trio Real and Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, as well as AC Milan, Inter and Juventus, officially broke cover to confirm their membership.
In a statement outlining the breakaway scheme, the 12 rebels said they ‘anticipated a further three clubs will join ahead of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as practicable’.
But Dortmund released a statement denouncing the competition that read: “On Monday morning, Borussia Dortmund’s chairman of the board, Hans-Joachim Watzke, took a position on the discussion about the introduction of a European Super League.
“Watzke said: ‘The members of the board of the European Club Association (ECA) got together for a virtual conference on Sunday evening and confirmed that the board decision of last Friday is still valid.’
“And he added: ‘This decision means that the clubs want to implement the planned reform of the Uefa Champions League.
“It was the clear opinion of the members of the ECA board that the plans to found a Super League were rejected.’
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“Watzke also emphasizes that ‘both German clubs that are represented on the ECA Board, FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, represented 100 per cent congruent views in all discussions’.”
Fellow Bundesliga side RB Leipzig have also turned their back on the breakaway group, according to Sky Germany.
And Portuguese giants FC Porto are also out, according to their president Pinto da Costa.
He is quoted as saying: “There were informal contacts but we didn’t pay much attention.
“We are in the Champions League and we hope to continue to be there for many years to come.”
And according to an unnamed Super League source quoted by AFP, at least two French clubs are set to join where Dortmund have turned away.
Paris Saint-Germain are yet to declare a position with Lyon and Marseille both being discussed as potential participants given their size, history and fanbase.
Sir Alex Ferguson is one of several star names to slam the proposals saying ‘fans like European competition the way it is’.
Elsewhere, Spanish LaLiga chiefs slammed the breakaway plotters in a withering attack.
Real Madrid are the ringleaders of the self-appointed elite, with neighbours Atletico and rivals Barcelona joining the Prem Big Six in becoming ‘Founding Clubs’ of the competition.
But as the Spanish clubs left out showed their disdain, with Real Betis publishing a table which wiped out the results of games involving the want-away trio, the League added further weight to its onslaught.
LaLiga said it ‘strongly condemns’ the plan for ‘a breakaway, elitist European competition that attacks the principles of open competition and sporting merit which are at the heart of the domestic and European football pyramid’.
It said: “Today football fans across Europe can dream that their club, no matter the size, may excel, climb to the top and compete at the pinnacle of European football.
“LaLiga defends this European tradition of football for all. The concept proposed by 12 European clubs destroys that dream, shutting the door to the top of European football, allowing in just an elite few.”
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The Spanish top flight added: “The newly proposed top European competition is nothing more than a selfish, egotistical proposal designed to further enrich the already super rich.
“It will undermine the appeal of the whole game and have a deeply damaging impact on the immediate and future of La Liga, its member clubs, and all the entire footballing ecosystem.
“This destruction of the European football ecosystem will also ultimately cause the failure of this new competition and its participating clubs, which have built their success based on the achievement of sports titles and triumphs, which will now be more limited.
“We use all measures at our disposal and work with all stakeholders to defend the integrity and future of Spanish football in the best interests of the game.”
According to Super League, the new elite will generate £346m EACH year in ‘solidarity’ payments for the rest of European football.
That is up to three times the amount due to trickle down to the minnows from Uefa’s planned Champions League revamp.
Super League insiders insist that figure, for each of the 23 years of the initial deal, is a ‘minimum’ return, with a fixed percentage of revenues doled out through the rest of the European club game.
But the reality of why the ‘dirty dozen’ are willing to risk a legal fight with Uefa and their domestic rivals was evidenced in the news that the founding clubs will share an initial £3billion pot ‘to support their infrastructure investment plans and to offset the impact of the COVID pandemic’.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
