Dortmund, Bayern 'reject' Super League plans: club chairmen

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich both said on Monday they were against proposals to form a European Super League.

Overnight, 12 of Europe’s most powerful clubs announced the launch of the so-called Super League to oversee a new midweek competition, but there are no German clubs involved.

“FC Bayern have not been involved in the plans for creating a Super League,” Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in a statement.

“We are convinced that the current structure in football guarantees a reliable foundation.”

Dortmund chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke said the members of the European Club Association (ECA) had met late on Sunday and expressed “a clear opinion to reject the foundation of a Super League”.

He added the two German clubs on the ECA board, Bayern and Dortmund, had taken “100 percent” the same position “in all discussions”.

The statements appear to confirm that neither of Germany’s two biggest clubs will join the breakaway league, whose announcement on Sunday threw European football into turmoil.

“I do not believe the Super League will solve the financial problems of European clubs that have arisen as result of the coronavirus pandemic,” added former Bayern striker Rummenigge.

“Rather, all clubs in Europe should work in solidarity to ensure that the cost structure, especially players’ salaries and agents’ fees, are brought in line with revenues, to make all of European football more rational.”

Six of the breakaway clubs are from the English Premier League. Three are Spanish and three Italian. Three more are to be announced.

“The future of the popular sport of football is at stake,” the German football association and German league said in a statement.

“We cannot allow the financial interests of a few big clubs in England, Spain and Italy result in the abolition of existing structures.”

Also on Monday, UEFA confirmed its plans for a revamped Champions League from 2024, with 36 clubs instead of 32 and 10 group matches for each team.

“The modified group stage will contribute to an increase in excitement and the emotional experience in the competition,” said Rummenigge.