The "best footballers on the planet had the chance" to earn up to $1M each for playing in an exhibition match at the end of the season, "only for the project to be vetoed by their clubs," according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. The idea was for an "annual Europe v Rest of the World game to be staged at the Amsterdam Arena" and modeled after the NBA All-Star Game. The plans were "advanced enough for there to be confidence last Christmas that the top-secret project would go ahead." The finances were "said to stack up, helped considerably by massive Chinese sponsorship, while TV rights were well advanced." Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes was involved, suggesting his "stable" of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, Chelsea's Diego Costa, ManU's Angel di Maria, Man City's Sergio Aguero, Real Madrid's James Rodriquez and ManU's Radamel Falcao would have been "willing participants." However, the "major obstacle was the crowded football calendar and the clubs, who would have been paid as well, finally vetoed the all-star game at the January meeting of the European Club Association." The clubs had "also wanted a bigger share of the proceeds" (DAILY MAIL, 2/27).
