The timing and joint nature of the statement from FIFA and other bodies indicate a "growing concern that this time the threats of a breakaway league could be more than just a negotiating tactic from the big clubs." In November '18, German magazine Der Spiegel reported that Real Madrid had been making plans for a Super League. Although "a number of those clubs denied they were in talks," Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has "continued to talk of the need for major changes in European club competition" (REUTERS, 1/21).
Founder members of a proposed European Super League would be offered up to €350M ($426M) each to join the competition, according to an "incendiary proposal document." Six English clubs would be among 15 permanent founding members, according to sources who also say that Real Madrid, ManU, Liverpool and AC Milan have been "involved in the plans for a Super League" to replace UEFA's Champions League. An 18-page proposal document for the Super League says the 15 founding members and five other clubs, who would qualify annually, "would be split into two groups of ten and play between 18 and 23 European matches a season" (LONDON TIMES, 1/21).
