‘I lost it’ - UEFA president reveals extent of Liverpool’s involvement in failed European Super League bid

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has revealed the extent of how involved Liverpool and the other Premier League clubs were in the failed European Super League bid of 2021.

The prosposed league was announced with 12 founding members - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid - who would all permanently take part in the competition.

After intense backlash and hostility from the fanbases of the English clubs, Chelsea pulling out of the deal led to a domino-effect with the other clubs also following suit, but Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid remain committed to the concept.

Now Ceferin, speaking with Gary Neville on the Overlap, revealed Liverpool and Manchester United were more keen at the time, stating that they were “very much involved”.

Ceferin said: “Two clubs (Ceferin confirming they were Chelsea and Manchester City) were hesitating in England very much, they said we want to stay friends with you, we will be friends with you from within.

“I had a phone call from one of the English clubs, I will not say which. I lost it a bit and said, ‘you go to hell, from tomorrow you are my enemies I don’t want to speak to you any more’. It was tough.”

The financial landscape for teams outside of the Premier League is cause for concern for many, as the English clubs continue to dwarf the spending of their European counterparts. It means the likes of Juventus and Barcelona are far more invested in a potential super league as a way to become more financially secure.

But the likelihood of a super league occuring, at least in the next few years, is low as explained by Sky Sports’ chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol back in October 2022: “The problem they’ve got is you cannot have a European Super League without Premier League teams and, at the moment, there is no appetite from Premier League clubs to be part of a Super League because the last time they tried, it was a disaster. So, unless they can get big English clubs involved, this is a non-starter.”