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How players have reacted to the European Super League announcement

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Charlie Rhodes
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Sports Editor
3 min read
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Former Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera is one of many players to speak out on the formation of a controversial European Super League. 

Herrera played for Manchester United from 2014-19, having made 189 appearances for the Red Devils.

It was announced on Sunday night that Herrera’s former club would be involved in the formation of a European Super League. 

The proposed competition has been met with a wave of criticism due to the ‘closed shop’ mentality of the league format.

Now, Herrera has led a wave of players speaking out on social media.

Daniel Podence & Bruno Fernandes

Wolves’ Daniel Podence criticised the competition on Instagram on Monday, claiming ‘there are some things we just can’t really pay for’.

Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes then reposted Podence’s post, explaining ‘dreams can’t be bought’.

Mesut Ozil & Everton’s Richarlison

Former Arsenal star Mesut Ozil has also spoken out on the formation of the European Super League.

The now-Fenerbahce midfielder said it is ‘really hard to understand for all football fans out there’.

Everton forward Richarlison then quoted that tweet, saying ‘E isso’, which translates to ‘this…’

He also quoted Gary Neville’s rant on Sky Sports yesterday with several clapping emoji’s.

Podolski & Luis Figo

Former football players are also chiming in on the criticism of a Super League.

Lukas Podolski labelled the competition as ‘an insult to my belief’, before asking fans to ‘fight against this’.

Former Real Madrid and Barcelona forward Luis Figo called the move ‘greedy and callous’, claiming the competition is ‘only to serve self-interested owners’.

Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray

The Rovers boss has slammed clubs for their lack of transparency, claiming they were having ‘meetings about hundreds of millions’ while ignoring ‘the people dying and suffering and the clubs that are going under’.

SL View – Will the criticism put a stop to a European Super League?

While all 12 founding clubs will have expected a backlash, they may not have expected one this widespread.

Players, fans and media are all unified in their condemnation of the new competition on Monday.

However, there have been suggestions that owners are unfazed by the criticism.

Kaveh Solhekol has already quoted a board member at one of the clubs involved, claiming ‘their job is to maximise profits. The wider good of the game is a secondary concern’.

That goes to show the kind of people that are involved with this project – all driven solely by monetary gain.

We can only hope that the backlash will give one or two clubs second thoughts.

Read Also: The European Super League drama and what it means for football.

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Charlie Rhodes

Charlie is an accomplished journalist specialising in football, but with extensive interest across every and all sports, and their intersection with the betting industry. Bearing a keen eye for detail, and considerable experience encompassing news, long-form content and betting, he has previously been published on leading brands such as 90min.com and FootyAccumulators. He also worked alongside former Goldman Sachs executives on a peer-to-peer fintech trading start-up (SportsStack).
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Author Image

Charlie Rhodes

Twitter Facebook Linkedin Instagram
Charlie is an accomplished journalist specialising in football, but with extensive interest across every and all sports, and their intersection with the betting industry. Bearing a keen eye for detail, and considerable experience encompassing news, long-form content and betting, he has previously been published on leading brands such as 90min.com and FootyAccumulators. He also worked alongside former Goldman Sachs executives on a peer-to-peer fintech trading start-up (SportsStack).
View All Posts By Charlie Rhodes
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