The Premier League will meet on Tuesday without Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham who have agreed to join a breakaway European Super League.
A virtual meeting, chaired by Premier League CEO Richard Masters, will be attended by the 14 clubs who are not involved in the newly-announced League.
A statement on Sunday indicated that six Premier League clubs will be joined in the League by AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, and Real Madrid. Three more clubs could join for the inaugural season which will commence “as soon as practicable”.
The new format has been put forward as a rival to the UEFA Champions League, not as a replacement to domestic leagues, but there are fears it could have wider ramifications.
UEFA, in a joint statement with FA, Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A, blasted the plans and did not rule out taking legal action over the proposals, insisting players involved would be banned from all other competitions at domestic, European or world level and could be prevented from representing their national teams.
American investment bank JP Morgan has announced it will be financing the competition.
Manchester United have stood down from the European Club Association (ECA), which represents all 246 European clubs. It is the sole such body recognised by UEFA, and has member clubs in each UEFA member association.
United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has also stepped down from his UEFA roles. Serie A clubs Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan have also left the ECA.
Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli has also resigned as ECA chairman, a position he held since 2012, and left his post as member of the UEFA Executive Committee to take up the Super League vice-president role.
Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says they have had no involvement in the plans and believes the competition would not solve the clubs’ financial problems.
