US investment bank JPMorgan, which agreed to financially back the breakaway European football Super League, said Friday it had “clearly misjudged” the failed project’s impact.
“We clearly misjudged how this deal would be viewed by the wider football community and how it might impact them in the future. We will learn from this,” it said in a brief statement.
To get the ball rolling, JPMorgan had agreed a pot 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion) to be shared among the first dozen teams to sign up plus another three clubs that had been expected to join them.
But in the space of 48 hours this week, European football’s governing body UEFA, aided by fans and politicians, quelled a mutiny by the English, Spanish and Italian clubs who presumed to form their own quasi-closed tournament.
Nine clubs, including all six in England, subsequently withdrew and even if Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid, whose president Florentino Perez led the attempted secession, are still refusing formally to capitulate, their proposal no longer looks credible.
UEFA meets on Friday with revenge on some members’ minds following the attempted breakaway, while the fate of a handful of European Championship host cities is also on the agenda.
World Cup News
-
FIFA World Cup
/ 1 month agoVinicius says Spain should lose 2030 World Cup unless racism declines
Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior has called for Spain to be stripped of its 2030...
By AFP -
FIFA World Cup
/ 3 months agoRights groups demand release of jailed Qatar World Cup ex-staffer
Human rights groups on Wednesday called for the release of Abdullah Ibhais, a former...
By AFP -
FIFA World Cup
/ 3 months agoNew Jersey governor says 2026 World Cup will be ‘incredibly safe’
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Sunday promised the 2026 World Cup will be...
By AFP -
FIFA World Cup
/ 6 months agoSaudi oil giant Aramco agrees major FIFA sponsorship deal
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Aramco and world football governing body FIFA on Thursday...
By AFP