Kieran Maguire: Man City supporters ‘key’ as details of ‘destructive’ plot emerge
Super League chiefs will now attempt to get Man City supporters on side as they look to relaunch the controversial breakaway competition.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the latest moves being made behind the scenes by the three remaining Super League clubs.
City were one of nine sides to U-turn on Super League after a monumental fan backlash in April last year, but Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have not abandoned the plot.
As relayed by Sky Sports on Wednesday (19 October), A22 Sports Management – the firm created to help launch the Super League – have just appointed German television tsar Bernd Reichart as their new CEO.
Maguire suggests that one of his first tasks will be to craft a PR campaign that can change the minds of those who rejected the Super League last year.
“We’re now likely to see a PR exercise from the Super League,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“The big fear for the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus is that the strength of the Premier League will mean they will not be able to dominate in terms of their ability to buy in the transfer market as they have done historically.
“We will therefore see a persuasive approach taken by the likes of Bernd Reichart to persuade English fans that the idea of a non-merit-based franchise competition is in the best interests of European football. That is key.
“That will destroy the smaller clubs who have achieved great things such as Nottingham Forest, Porto, Steaua Bucharest, Aston Villa and so on in winning the European Cup.“
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