The six English clubs who agreed to join a breakaway European Super League have agreed to pay a combined fee of £22 million as part of a settlement with the Premier League, The Athletic understands.
The clubs have also been told that they will be hit with individual £25 million fines and a 30-point deduction should they agree to join a breakaway Super League in the future.
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The 12-team Super League — which included Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur from the Premier League — was announced in April to widespread condemnation.
All six Premier League teams involved withdrew from the competition 48 hours later.
Those teams have now agreed to pay a settlement with the Premier League that is expected to be announced later today, ahead of the top-flight’s annual meeting.
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What has been said?
In a statement the Premier League said: “The six clubs involved in proposals to form a European Super League have today acknowledged once again that their actions were a mistake, and have reconfirmed their commitment to the Premier League and the future of the English game.
“They have wholeheartedly apologised to their fans, fellow clubs, the Premier League and The FA.
“As a gesture of goodwill, the clubs have collectively agreed to make a contribution of £22 million which will go towards the good of the game, including new investment in support for fans, grassroots football and community programmes.
“Furthermore, the clubs have agreed to support rule changes so that any similar actions in the future would lead to a 30 point deduction. Each of the six clubs, in that event, would also be subject to an additional £25 million fine.
“The Premier League and The FA have worked closely together throughout this process and this agreement brings both investigations into the matter to a conclusion.”
What has the reaction been?
Malcolm Clarke, chair of the Footballers Supporters’ Association, said: “Whatever punishment the Premier League's in-house process decides upon, it cannot guarantee that clubs won't try similar again in the decades ahead.
“The European Super League's legacy should be a total restructure of the game – an independent regulator, genuine power to fans, and wealth redistribution.”
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Clarke is not the only one to call for an independent regulator. Tracey Crouch MP told The Athletic’s Business of Sport podcast that she believed there would be one in the near future.
What happened to the Super League?
The Super League project began to collapse when all six English clubs among the 12 ‘founding members’ — Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham — backed out within 48 hours of the project’s announcement.
Atletico Madrid, Milan and Inter then withdrew, leaving Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid as the only clubs still officially involved.
Haven’t clubs already been fined?
Yes, the clubs involved will have to pay a withdrawal fee for reversing their decision to join the breakaway Super League.
All the owners of the six clubs have said they would front this cost themselves as opposed to dipping into club resources.
Each club signed a binding legal agreement which committed them to the Super League for at least three years.
Now they have abandoned the plan, however, it is understood they will have to pay a withdrawal fee for their early exit.
Could it happen again?
Possibly — but it won’t be easy.
In May, the Premier League said that it was bringing in a new owners’ charter to stop future attempts to join a breakaway Super League.
All Premier League club owners will have to sign up to the new rule “committing them to the core principles” of the English top-flight with breaches punished by “significant” sanctions.
That would prevent teams from announcing plans for a Super League — such as what happened in April — without them being hit with much more serious punishments than a combined £22 million settlement fee.
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