Inter and their fellow Super League clubs received a harsh warning from UEFA president Aleksandar Ceferin today, who vowed he wouldn’t let them ‘take football away’.
The Nerazzurri were one of 12 leading European clubs to announce their participation in the new franchise on Sunday night, in a group of founding members which also included Serie A rivals AC Milan and Juventus.
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has warned clubs must ‘live with the consequences’ if they decide to start a breakaway league, while FIGC president Gabriele Gravina slammed the plans as ‘unjustifiable’ and against the values of sport.
“All the Governments are with us, all the fans are with us, all the media, only some greedy people, a few, are on the other side,” Ceferin said this morning, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“Are we allowing them to take football? No.
“You can trust me, we will not allow it.
“The ultimate aim for some is no longer to decorate the club’s trophy cabinet with silverware but fill the bank account with cash.
“Contempt for smaller clubs, for supporters respectful of traditions is replacing ethics.
“Selfishness is replacing solidarity.
“Some CEOs change clubs like they change their shirts, or even faster.
“Money has become more important than glory, greed more important than loyalty and dividends much more important than passion.
“Football does not belong to anyone, rather it belongs to everyone; football is part of our heritage.
“The Champions League is part of our heritage.
“Everyone here is just passing through but our purpose is perennial, we are custodians of an idea, that of open competitions in which everyone can dream.
“Respect for history, respect for tradition, respect for others.”
Ceferin also pointed out that Juventus, one of the other 12 clubs involved in the Super League, wouldn’t even be involved in a Super League if the plans had been formed back in 2006.
“Where were Manchester United in the decade before Sir Alex arrived on the scene, do you remember?” Ceferin asked.
“Where were Juventus 15 years ago? In Serie B.
“If the clubs that dominated European football 30 or 40 years ago had decided to form a Super League, what would it have looked like?
“We would have Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Hamburg, Steaua Bucharest, Porto, PSV and Red Star.
“These were Europe’s cream of the crop back then.
“That would be a Super League back then.
“But football changes.
“Some don’t understand, they see only the changes on their bank accounts and nowhere else.”
Inter, AC Milan and Juventus were expected to be joined in the Super League by six Premier League clubs (Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham) and three La Liga teams (Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid).
Chelsea are thought to be on the verge of pulling out of the project though, which would leave just 11 clubs as founding members.
The games would be played in midweek, overlapping with the UEFA Champions League but allowing clubs to keep playing in their domestic leagues.