The Beautiful Game, Fútbol, Calcio, Footie Season 23/24

[wco81]

A lot of the fondness for Maradonna seems to come from his legend as kind of an outlaw.

It's not that he just cheated on maybe the most famous goal of his career but his days at Napoli, hanging out with shady underworld figures.

He had a great club career but imagine with today's training regimens, lot less partying what he might have done.

[pk500]

A lot of the fondness for Maradonna seems to come from his legend as kind of an outlaw.

True. And in this era of athletes as sanitized, packaged brands, sport needs more Maradonas.

[10spro]

A lot of the fondness for Maradonna seems to come from his legend as kind of an outlaw.

True. And in this era of athletes as sanitized, packaged brands, sport needs more Maradonas.

It’s what made him such an icon, a God in Argentina as his nation mourns for three days and also in Napoli. We all know about his struggles with drugs, a cocaine head he was called during his glory days in Napoli.

After all, who would play on Sunday to delight his faithful crowd, hang out with the mafia at night and try to sweat it all out by Wednesday just in time to train with the rest of his teammates?

Only Maradona. Because he could. And the irony is that these transgressions is what made him so human, so identify-able for the regular crowd.

Here’s a little 15 year old stud that had no electricity, no drinking water in the poor skirts of Villa Fiorito and became the greatest footballer in the world. He later apologized for his crazy days. He just had chat charisma.

Who doesn’t have their own dark corners in life?

Now, let’s see Messi as a comparison. The only thing we all know about him is that allegedly he wasn’t paying his share of taxes in his earlier days with Barca.

No enough hot sauce for the media to bother with and compared to Diego, he’s a Saint.

The regular fan just identified themselves with Maradona more. Despite his transgressions.

[10spro]

He’s in his early 30s but the touch is still there, scoring his 650th for Barca.

[wco81]

Forget about that how about the 555 million Euro in 4 years?

Barca not happy that number was published.

[10spro]

Forget about that how about the 555 million Euro in 4 years?

Barca not happy that number was published.

Depending on the elections coming up, his future will be decided this summer whether he stays or not.

[wco81]

Twelve of the biggest European clubs announce plans to form a Super League. They could play in this SL annually and no longer play in the CL or Europa leagues.

According to this article, some of the forces pushing this SL are the American owners of Liverpool, Man U and Arsenal.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/top-e ... =home-page

Their goal is to gross 4 billion Euros or $4.86 billion a year from TV deals. In comparison UEFA has been making about $3.25 billion a year from CL, Europa League and UEFA Super Cup.

FIFA and UEFA have threatened bans of players from national team competitions, domestic leagues and of course law suits.

The goal would be to have 15 founding member clubs, which would always be in the league. 5 more clubs would be promoted in based on domestic league results? But if the domestic leagues won't support the league, why would other clubs which are not founding members, which gives them larger share of SL revenues, participate?

Announcements are one thing but it may not launch any time soon until they sort out the legal deals. If these teams do stop playing CL to be in this SL, they'd not only be risking litigation and sanctions but loss of CL revenues. UEFA isn't likely to let say Man U and Liverpool play in the CL next year say and then leave the following year. If those and other clubs planned to leave, they might just be banned from at least the last year of getting that CL money.

[10spro]

Well, it didn’t take long for Levy to sack Mourinho.

[Dave]

I don't know that I've seen a more universally hated announcement than this one for the Super League.

[dbdynsty25]

I don't know that I've seen a more universally hated announcement than this one for the Super League.

Which is why it'll never actually come to be.

[10spro]

I don't know that I've seen a more universally hated announcement than this one for the Super League.

Which is why it'll never actually come to be.

Agreed. 12 teams in so far.

[pk500]

I don't know that I've seen a more universally hated announcement than this one for the Super League.

Which is why it'll never actually come to be.

Yes, it will. As the always excellent Football Writers Podcast said today, this wouldn't have been announced if all potential legal hurdles weren't cleared.

Plus even if fans stay away from stadiums in Europe, the loss in revenue will be marginal to the huge clubs because of the continued TV revenue, which only will increase with the Super League. The pandemic, and its resulting empty stadiums, has proved this. And don't foist the financial problems of the Spanish clubs as a counterpoint. That's silly. They're grossly mismanaged, and La Liga's TV rights fees are a pittance compared to the Premier League. That's why the Spanish clubs are the spearhead of the Super League -- they need the money.

The owners of the clubs could care less about the fans and their emotions, especially the American owners of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. If you think for a second that Stan Kroenke, John Henry and the Glazer family give a flying f*ck about their respective club's history and supporters, I have oceanfront property in Kansas to sell you. Those three men -- and the owners of all the Super League clubs -- care about one thing: money.

Finally, any threats by domestic leagues or UEFA to kick out the Super League clubs from domestic leagues and the Champions League are toothless. The Premier League won't get 1/10th of its current TV rights deals without the Big Six. The Champions League will be a second-rate competition without them and other European superpowers, too. The 2023 Champions League final: Ajax vs. West Ham. Whoop-de-f*cking-doo. It will be the Carabao Cup of European football.

This is happening, like it or not. (I DETEST it, by the way.) But as astute Football Writers Podcast host Mike Calvin said in today's pod, football has undergone seismic change in 30-year cycles for the last 60 years. In the early 1960s, it was the institution of a minimum wage for footballers. In the early 1990s, it was the breakaway from the FA to form the Premier League.

And in the early 2020s, it's the formation of the Super League. Football isn't about the supporters in the terraces or the tradition and history of the game. It's a massive business, just like the NFL, NBA and MLB. European football is just a little late to the party, but the festivities have started and won't stop.

[dbdynsty25]

I’ll believe it when I see it. Hell a few teams haven’t even agreed to it in its current form. Still skeptical.

[Zeppo]

they'd not only be risking litigation and sanctions but loss of CL revenues. ... they might just be banned from at least the last year of getting that CL money.

But here’s the thing: as I understand it, EVERY club in the new Superleague will receive, I think, €400M EACH YEAR. Every club. That is apparently FOUR TIMES what Bayern received last season for wining the UCL (I’m not entirely sure on the figures, but I am sure the basic idea is true).

So losing out on the CL money and the very slim chance to win the champion’s prize is a fine trade off for the guaranteed TV €€€ for being part of the Superleague. It’s what all the big clubs outside of England are jealous of about the EPL, and it’s what all the big club owners are jealous about with the USA “closed membership” franchise league systems. And I think they already have loans in place, which is why it seems almost inevitable it really will happen this time.

To me, the really interesting element here is what happens with the German clubs. With the “50 +1” rule in German football, the clubs as fan-oriented organizations operate very differently. Bayern and Dortmund clearly haven’t said “yes” to the Superleague, but they haven’t unequivocally said “No” yet either. For them, fans burning shirts and scarves and otherwise protesting would be a much more serious thing than for clubs in other countries. I’m also curious as to why PSG has remained mum as yet.

[pk500]

I’ll believe it when I see it. Hell a few teams haven’t even agreed to it in its current form. Still skeptical.

The footy fan side of me hopes you're right. The sports business professional side of me is fascinated to see how this unfolds.

[pk500]

they'd not only be risking litigation and sanctions but loss of CL revenues. ... they might just be banned from at least the last year of getting that CL money.

And I think they already have loans in place, which is why it seems almost inevitable it really will happen this time.

They definitely do. JPMorgan Chase has provided loan funding estimated to be between $3.8 and $5 billion to launch this league.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/europ ... Xp5tARXCSs

To me, the really interesting element here is what happens with the German clubs. With the “50 +1” rule in German football, the clubs as fan-oriented organizations operate very differently. Bayern and Dortmund clearly haven’t said “yes” to the Superleague, but they haven’t unequivocally said “No” yet either. For them, fans burning shirts and scarves and otherwise protesting would be a much more serious thing than for clubs in other countries. I’m also curious as to why PSG has remained mum as yet.

It's only a matter of time before Bayern, Dortmund and PSG join. It's inevitable. They can't resist the money, regardless of ownership structure.

[fsquid]

These soccer leagues get most of their money from SE Asia and the States for their TV packages. Some kid in Bumbai doesn't care about Burnley playing West Ham. They want to see Inter playing Barcelona. Sucks, but thats where it is now.

[pk500]

These soccer leagues get most of their money from SE Asia and the States for their TV packages. Some kid in Bumbai doesn't care about Burnley playing West Ham. They want to see Inter playing Barcelona. Sucks, but thats where it is now.

Bingo. One of the panelists on the Football Writers Podcast -- can't recommend that pod enough -- said yesterday he saw a queue stretching for a mind-boggling distance for tickets to a few Premier League exhibitions when he was in Southeast Asia to cover those exhibition tours.

[wco81]

These soccer leagues get most of their money from SE Asia and the States for their TV packages. Some kid in Bumbai doesn't care about Burnley playing West Ham. They want to see Inter playing Barcelona. Sucks, but thats where it is now.

Most?

I would think Sky and other similar packages in Europe bring in huge amounts of money?

I read that EPL TV rights dwarf those of other leagues, especially a league like La Liga. Real and Barca were two of the highest grossing clubs before the pandemic but apparently feel they are leaving a lot of money on the table.

I didn't realize CL was now only on Paramount +? Or does CBS show it during Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons?

In any event, the new NFL TV deal now allows streaming on ESPN+, Peacock, Paramount + and something from Fox. So it will be interesting to see if these streaming services raise prices in a couple of years as the new deal kicks in.

That could be the future of sports, less and less on OTA or "free" TV or even basic cable channels and more and more on paid tiers.

[dbdynsty25]

These soccer leagues get most of their money from SE Asia and the States for their TV packages. Some kid in Bumbai doesn't care about Burnley playing West Ham. They want to see Inter playing Barcelona. Sucks, but thats where it is now.

Most?

I would think Sky and other similar packages in Europe bring in huge amounts of money?

I read that EPL TV rights dwarf those of other leagues, especially a league like La Liga. Real and Barca were two of the highest grossing clubs before the pandemic but apparently feel they are leaving a lot of money on the table.

I didn't realize CL was now only on Paramount +? Or does CBS show it during Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons?

In any event, the new NFL TV deal now allows streaming on ESPN+, Peacock, Paramount + and something from Fox. So it will be interesting to see if these streaming services raise prices in a couple of years as the new deal kicks in.

That could be the future of sports, less and less on OTA or "free" TV or even basic cable channels and more and more on paid tiers.

Both Champions League and a vast majority of PL games are now on paid subscriptions (Paramount Plus and Peacock). CL is moving to Fox or Turner Sports I believe next year, but as it currently stands, all of the games were streamed live on P+ and then shown later in the evening on regular cable.

As for PL, they went from showing 5-6 games per weekend to showing 1-2 and then putting the rest on Peacock. Clearly the streaming services are going to take over completely in the near future.

[Dave]

Man City and Chelsea are already out, hard to see the Super League moving forward. The fall-out could be interesting.

Edit to add that Atletico Madrid is also bailing.

[dbdynsty25]

Man City and Chelsea are already out, hard to see the Super League moving forward. The fall-out could be interesting.

Edit to add that Atletico Madrid is also bailing.

Again, it's NEVER going to happen. It was ridiculous to think it WOULD happen. It's all a ploy to get more money - somehow.

[pk500]

Man City and Chelsea are already out, hard to see the Super League moving forward. The fall-out could be interesting.

Edit to add that Atletico Madrid is also bailing.

Again, it's NEVER going to happen. It was ridiculous to think it WOULD happen. It's all a ploy to get more money - somehow.

I tip my cap to you, DB. You were spot-on.

[dbdynsty25]

Man City and Chelsea are already out, hard to see the Super League moving forward. The fall-out could be interesting.

Edit to add that Atletico Madrid is also bailing.

Again, it's NEVER going to happen. It was ridiculous to think it WOULD happen. It's all a ploy to get more money - somehow.

I tip my cap to you, DB. You were spot-on.

It's gonna be interesting to see what the outcome is in terms of how they share revenue. Yes, the big clubs hate sharing with the little, but all major sports are like that. The bigger supports the smaller. When all of the managers and players come out AGAINST something, there's no way that even the money grubbing American & Middle east oil tycoon owners can do about it. This idea was floated last year too - this year it just got a lot more coverage and made everyone think it was a done deal. Too much to lose for the game of soccer to allow it to happen. Too many logistical and rules to be implemented across soccer, with all sorts of different leagues/venues/broadcasting rights/etc. It would be in litigation FOREVER...and never actually be able to get off the ground. That is where my skepticism lies.

[fsquid]

Looks like this thing is dead.

I was wrong on the TV money. The latest numbers are 4.4 billion pound for the UK TV rights and 3.9 billion for the overseas TV rights for the EPL. Unsure on the UCL.