 |
| FIFA President Gianni Infantino |
FIFA President Gianni Infantino warned on Wednesday that any players taking part in a breakaway European super league would be excluded from the World Cup and other international tournaments.
Those who might be barred should such a league get off the ground could include the likes of Argentinaโs Lionel Messi, Brazilian Neymar, Franceโs Kylian Mbappe and Portugalโs Cristiano Ronaldo.
โYou are either in or you are out,โ the head of the world sgoverning body told a group of international reporters on Wednesday.
โIf there are players who donโt play organised football then that encompasses everything โ national leagues, confederation competitions, the Euros and the World Cup,โ the Times newspaper quoted him as saying.
German news magazine Der Spiegel reported last week that plans for a Super League, involving top clubs such as Real Madrid and Manchester United, were back on the table.
The magazine shared access to the documents with Reuters and more than a dozen other media outlets in cooperation with European Investigative Collaborations (EIC).
Reuters was not invited to Wednesdayโs meeting with Infantino.
According to Der Spiegel, a 16-team Super League would replace the Champions League and feature 11 โfoundersโ โ including Messiโs Barcelona and Real Madrid โ who could not be relegated for the first 20 years.
Other clubs mentioned include Manchester United, Mbappe and Neymarโs Paris St Germain, Bayern Munich and Ronaldoโs Juventus.
โWe have seen for many years these attempts to break away outside of the structures, going back to the 1990s,โ said Infantino.
โIt is up to us to protect football and come up with solutions that benefit clubs and also the world football community.โ
Infantino said the Club World Cup was his answer to any breakaway attempt, presenting it as a competition that would generate more revenues for the clubs but also benefit the football community.
โIf clubs organise a breakaway Super League, who benefits? The clubs,โ he said.
โIf FIFA organises a Club World Cup, UEFA continues to organise the Champions League and the Premier League continues to organise the Premier League then the clubs benefit but also 211 member associations.โ
Infantino revealed plans in May for a new Global Nations League and a revamped Club World Cup which he says are backed by a โsolid and seriousโ group of investors willing to spend $25 billion over a 12-year cycle starting in 2021.
The Club World Cup, currently an annual tournament with seven teams, could become a four-yearly event featuring 24 clubs instead.
The European Leagues, which includes the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga, and European footballโs governing body UEFA are among several organisations unwilling to endorse the plans at this stage.
