Kieran Maguire: Liverpool part of the ‘cartel’ amid Luxembourg courtroom drama
Uefa are right – Liverpool are part of a “cartel” that tried to hijack European club football.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the ongoing fallout from last April’s aborted European Super League plot.
Uefa and the three remaining Super League clubs – Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus – are currently locked in a legal battle at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.
The outcome of the hearing will have significant implications for the fate of similar separatist plots in the future.
Liverpool, who also spearheaded the failed Project Big Picture plot in October 2020, were one of the first teams to sign up for the Super League.
As quoted by BBC Sport on Monday (11 July), Uefa labelled the competition’s formative co-conspirators a “cartel” during the ECJ hearing.
Maguire echoed the governing body’s sentiments.
“Uefa’s comments have some merit,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Uefa is itself an organisation which needs more transparency and clarity in terms of the way it makes decisions.
“But the Super League franchise project was a cartel because it was invitation only. It would have made a mockery of domestic football if clubs only had to turn up in order to participate in this competition.
“It would have been hugely detrimental to the overall domestic game, especially to any club that has ambition.
“The thing about the Super League was that it is just a snapshot in time. If it was set up 20 years ago, Chelsea, Man City and Tottenham wouldn’t have been it.
“These big clubs haven’t always historically been successful. Liverpool went a long time without winning the Premier League, 30 years. They have been successful in Europe but it is still a valid observation.”
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