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Jonathan White

If it is not an adage yet, it should be that anything with the word “Super” in its title is usually anything but. 
The Chinese Super League is a case in point and the proposed European Super League looks like it will follow the same rule. 
There have been many comparisons made between the ESL and the CSL already as the backlash rages this morning following the announcement late on Sunday. 
The biggest reason for comparison? Money. 


Uefa have said that players playing in the ESL might not be allowed to represent their nations in international tournaments. 
No Euros. No World Cup. No problem. 
European Super League: how Asia’s next generation of fans may help the 12 rebel clubs achieve their goals
The CSL has long been the coup de grace for an international career. Ask Oscar.
Then again ask him if he minds as he counts the millions he has earned from Shanghai International Port Group that have changed the lives of his family and secured their future. 
For all the criticism that he is a mercenary, that is his decision. He’s entitled to live his life as he sees fit, and he can still count his 48 caps for Brazil, last playing for his country in the World Cup they held in 2014. 


In the 6 clubs failing to get approval for the 2021 season Chinese league license, owners of Jiangsu FC(Suning) and Beijing Chengfeng(Renhe) also control football clubs in Europe. Suning is the majority shareholder of Inter Milan and Dai Yongge & Xiuli own Reading FC. pic.twitter.com/8d4QNADvIG
— Titan Sports Plus (@titan_plus) March 29, 2021

It will be interesting to see if Oscar stays in the CSL as his weekly wage diminishes when the staggered salary cap kicks in over the coming seasons. 
Those speculating that the ESL will be like the CSL in being made up of over 30s and average players might be guilty of wishful thinking.
That has largely been the case in the CSL over the years but changed when the money rolled in from 2016 and Chinese clubs started buying up players for record fees.
English Premier League clubs could pay for banking on China cash
It’s all changed again with the belt-tightening from above but any ESL would begin with a big budget.
The ESL has been talked of as worth US$4 billion. That is an interesting figure, especially when it comes to television rights.
While Manchester United claim a global “fan and follower base of 1.1 billion people” based on research by Kantar done in 2019, which included 253 million in China (up from 108 million in their 2012 survey), that does not equate to money for Uefa and its Champions League.


The 2021 CSL will kickoff tomorrow. It's the official promo trailer for the new season. Unfortunately Jiangsu FC(Suning), the reigning champion, is not in the trailer. pic.twitter.com/GDmfVCVTUm
— Titan Sports Plus (@titan_plus) April 19, 2021

Television rights appeared to be on a downward trend even pre-pandemic, while the Covid-19 calendar proved that Asian fans do not want late night matches. 
The EPL played most nights of the week but that meant viewing figures suffered the same fate as the Champions League in being screened in the early hours.
If the ESL is to work then it needs to make kick-offs the right time for Shanghai and Shenzhen rather than Stretford, otherwise its going to struggle financially.
Inter Milan doubt as Suning call time on Chinese champions Jiangsu FC
When it comes to ESL finances, there is already a warning from China in the form of Suning, the owners of Inter Milan.
The Nerazzuri are one of the 12 signatories on the list and flying high in Serie A as they close in on a first title in 11 years.
That is where the good news ends. Their owners have been looking for investment in the Italian giants as they have struggled.


The Chinese Super League starts on Tuesday minus the champions after Suning stopped funding Jiangsu FC months after lifting the title. Will Inter Milan, for example, really be immune to their currrent financial worries in the ESL? 
We’ve been going this way. It must be remembered that, for all of its (valid) outrage at the ESL proposals, the English Premier League broke away from the English Football League in 1992.
Then it was them who proposed a 39th game for EPL teams – in far-off locations such as China – back in 2008. Fifa suggested a European Premier League in 2o18. 
Clarence Seedorf drops Chinese Super League stars from first Cameroon squad as ‘good players don’t compete in China or Asia’
Pandora’s box springs to mind and all that is left for them and every other league is hope that it won’t happen because it seems inevitable in some form in the future.
Europe’s biggest clubs have been talking of breakaways for years and it is only gathering steam. “Project Big Picture” was shot down, what, six months ago? Now this. 
One thing that the ESL and CSL have in common is contempt for match-going fans and the local fan base. 


American investment bank JP Morgan have confirmed they are financing the new European Super League.More: https://t.co/9QGsuAzERE pic.twitter.com/P16qWnBf5O
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 19, 2021

Chinese clubs are moved around without a care. 
Even this season, Shijiazhuang Ever Bright have been moved 229km down the road to Cangzhou and renamed as the Mighty Lions.
 The team also will play in the top flight despite being relegated last season – thanks to champions Jiangsu dropping out – in a nod to the ESL’s closed shop. 
European Super League: football’s American dream comes at a cost of competition and community
Why would Manchester United need to be in Manchester or Liverpool in Liverpool any more?  Why not China – it is called The Super League, there’s no mention of Europe in its title.
You can fill a stadium anywhere, you’d think, but then again do fans even matter? 
The pandemic has seen games played out to empty stands and all that empty space in shot would make for prime advertising if clubs could lose all those pesky well wishing messages for frontline workers or support for anti-racism movements.
A European Super League would destroy the Premier League, says Arsene Wenger
We’ve already seen with the CSL bubble last season – never mind local government’s capping attendances – that fans don’t need to be in grounds anyway. 
European teams have not always sold out the stadiums on their lucrative Chinese tours but those tours are no less lucrative for it.
For the ESL then read the CSL now – not so much super as a dystopian future.


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Uefa

European Super League: ESL future is Chinese football’s present – the warning signs are there

Oscar (right) of Shanghai SIPG celebrates after scoring against Chongqing Dangdai Lifan in the postponed 2020 season Chinese Football Super League. Photo: Xinhua

Tottenham Hotspur’s Troy Parrott in action with Manchester United’s Marcos Rojo in the International Champions Cup in Shanghai in July 2019. Photo: Reuters

European Super League: how Asia’s next generation of fans may help the 12 rebel clubs achieve their goals

A European Super League will diminish the ‘old’ achievements of clubs like Liverpool in the eyes of their ‘new’ supporters. Photo: AFP

European Super League: EPL ‘big six’ supporters’ clubs promise backlash; ‘unbridled American greed’ says one insider

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez would be the chairman of the proposed European Super League. Photo: EPA

(From left to right) Manchester United owner Joel Glazer, Liverpool owner John Henry and Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke are all in line for vice-chair roles in the proposed European Super League Photo: EPA/AFP

Uefa says it will ban football clubs who take part in a ‘cynical and greedy’ European Super League

FC Barcelona’s president Josep Maria Bartomeu. Photo: EPA-EFE

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said plans for a European Super League would be very damaging for football. Photo: Reuters

European Super League: football’s American dream comes at a cost of competition and community

The Uefa Champions League has become boring and bloated, but should it be replaced by a European Super League. Photo: AP

DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 03: Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz plays the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on November 3, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

FILE - In this April 12, 2018 file photo, FIFA President Gianni Infantino participates in the annual conference of the South American Football Confederation, CONMEBOL, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Infantino has asked the emir of Qatar to consider co-hosting the next World Cup with several nations that are attempting to isolate the tiny desert country in a bitter diplomatic dispute. Qatar has just eight stadiums to host 64 games over an already-congested 28-day window in 2022. Expanding the field to 48 teams would mean 80 games, requiring more stadiums. Infantino says using venues in Saudi Arabia and around the Persian Gulf “would probably be a nice message.” (AP Photo/Martin Ruggiero, File)

E8H5TT Quote from former manager Jock Stein on a statue's plinth, with reflection of statue of former player and legend Jimmy Johnstone

European Super League? Authorities need to temper their greed and focus on treating match-going supporters better

Travelling fans are often subjected to inhumane treatment and heavy-handed policing when they travel to follow their team in Europe. Photo: AFP

Soccer Football - Europa League - Group Stage - Group F - AC Milan v Real Betis - San Siro, Milan, Italy - October 25, 2018 Real Betis with flares REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo

Juventus players celebrate with their supporters on the pitch after the Champions League group H football match between Manchester United and Juventus at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on October 23, 2018. - Juventus won the game 1-0. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

TOPSHOT - Marseille football supporters clash with French police officials on a street in Marseille on October 25, 2018, ahead of the UEFA Europa League Group H football match with Italian club Lazio. (Photo by Boris HORVAT / AFP)

Soccer Football - Europa League - Group Stage - Group D - RSC Anderlecht v Fenerbahce - Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht, Belgium - October 25, 2018 Fenerbahce fans let off flares and display banners before the match REUTERS/Francois Walschaerts

Police watch Duesseldorf supporters burning fireworks during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Fortuna Duesseldorf, Germany, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Sport

Football


Fans do not matter, teams can change cities and money is motivation for mercenary players – welcome to modern football
There are warning signs for the 12 clubs who have signed on for The Super League, including Chinese-owned Inter Milan



Fans do not matter, teams can change cities and money is motivation for mercenary players – welcome to modern football.


Uefa Champions League

Chinese Super League

English Premier League

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

The East Stand