Football fans around the world are split over whether they believe the proposed European Super League is a good idea or not.
Twelve clubs – including the Premier League’s so-called ‘big six’ – are part of proposals which would fundamentally alter the shape of European football.
Inter Milan fan Kevin Wang from Beijing said: “As an ordinary member of the public I’m actually quite looking forward to this league.
“That’s because, as a fan, I’m mostly interested in watching these amazing matches and stiff competition. This could have a lot more appeal (than other competitions).”
One Chelsea fan told Sky News: “I think it’s a good thing for football fans. Football fans will have more games to watch, especially as the attendees of ESL are top clubs. For most Chinese football fans, they watch only the top clubs’ games, almost no one watches small teams.
“I understand why UEFA is against the new league. Because it touches their interests.”
Elsewhere in the Chinese capital 23-year-old FC Barcelona fan Yang Jie, said she was “shocked” by the announcement.
The university student said she is against the plan because she worries it will affect the traditional competitions like the national leagues and the Champions League. But she recognises that not everyone will feel this way.
“For ordinary, not so serious soccer fans who just watch matches to relax, to relieve stress or who don’t support a specific team, this type of match or competition might appeal to them because it will look exciting,” she said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
But echoing the feelings of many fans and players in the UK, Cod Satrusayang, a Liverpool fan from Thailand, told Sky News: “I think the idea that six English clubs could hold the entire game of football in the country hostage by their greed and villainy is utterly disgraceful.
“This new super league is accountable to no one, there is no sense of competition, no spirit of fair play, no relegation, no progression.
“It is the lack of culture on the part of the American cultures who come from a country where sporting institutions are franchises to be taken apart and moved and bought at the discretion of rich men with no regard for the supporters.
“It is everything wrong with the modern game.”
Manchester United supporter Moe Htun Oo, from Yangon in Myanmar, said: “The idea of super league is [the] worst one that can happen in football world.
“They just think about themselves not smaller teams. It’s a disgrace!”
A post shared by David Beckham (@davidbeckham)
Noppatjak Attanon, from Bangkok, Thailand said: “A lot of Liverpool and Manchester United fans not only love team performance on the pitch but also the soul of bringing youths to global stage.
“Super League will eradicate those very first reasons we fall in love with football. Connection with community. Meritocracy. Miracle moments from defeating giants.
“It has already changed. Super League will completely erase the good times”
Michael White (a Brit now living in Washington DC) told Sky News: “I think it’s pretty disgusting actually.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
“I think that it’ll cause the end of a lot of fans watching the English Premier League. They’ll probably desert their teams.
“I think it’s more about business than anything else, not about the fans and not about the game.”
Thai Manchester United fan Komphet Khundanet said: “I’ve heard about this for a very long time, about 20-30 years. I think it’s impossible. Especially with the coronavirus situation, each club is on the brink of dying, they don’t have any more money.
“They are surviving now because of the big teams like Real Madrid, Manchester United. Smaller clubs like the Crystal Palace and others, where would they get money from? It’s going to be tough.”