For politicians, the European Super League represented an open goal. Plans for the breakaway tournament of elite clubs disintegrated in a couple of days. Premiers such as Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron and Pedro Sánchez had articulated the fury of fans. The English half of the “dirty dozen” of football clubs pulled out on Tuesday night.
Businesses regularly misjudge national moods, their perceptions skewed by profit projections and legal advice. To do so on this scale was pretty special. Club bosses aside, the scheme’s financial backer JPMorgan features as the tin-eared multinational bank trampling on local sensibilities.
The failure of the scheme represents a European rout for the US model of sports business, in which wealthy entrepreneurs try to maximise profits from teams in closed or restricted-entry leagues.