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David Beckham has become the latest to hit out at European Super League plans
The news, involving the Big Six, has sparked outrage within the football world
Beckham, owner of Inter Miami, said competitions should be 'based on merit'

Published: 01:59 EDT, 20 April 2021 | Updated: 04:01 EDT, 20 April 2021

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Former England captain David Beckham has become the latest star to hit out at the formation of a European Super League.

The Premier League's so-called Big Six of Manchester United, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are founding members of the controversial new breakaway tournament that would replace their European commitments with UEFA, such as the Champions League.

The news has sparked outrage across the football world and now Manchester United and England legend Beckham has had his say.

David Beckham has become the latest star to hit out at formation of a European Super League

Beckham, now owner of MLS side Inter Miami, aired his views on his Instagram page

He posted on his Instagram page to 65.8million followers that football was 'nothing without the fans' and that the game should be 'for everyone' and competitions 'based on merit'.

Beckham, now owner of MLS side Inter Miami, wrote: 'I'm someone who loves football. It has been my life for as long as I can remember. I loved it from when I was a young child as a fan, and I'm still a fan now.

'As a player and now as an owner I know that our sport is nothing without the fans. We need football to be for everyone. We need football to be fair and we need competitions based on merit.

Leeds player wore 'Football For The Fans' t-shirts in warm-up for Liverpool clash on Monday

'Unless we protect these values the game we love is in danger...'

Beckham's former United team-mate Gary Neville and ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher launched an emotional call to arms to football fans, pundits, managers and players to help bring proposals for a controversial European Super League to a grinding halt.

Carragher insisted on Monday that just one of the 'Big Six' dropping out would cause the European Super League to collapse.

'We need the same response from everyone, we cannot afford this to die away, we need to ramp this up. We should take our hats off that they [James Milner and Jurgen Klopp] have been bold enough to say this,' he told Sky Sports, after Liverpool duo Milner and Klopp came out against the idea on Monday Night Football following Liverpool's draw with Leeds.

Liverpool supporters protested against the controversial European Super League plans

Arsenal fans also hung banners outside the Emirates Stadium in protest at the proposals

'More and more clubs have to do this. As soon as one drops out, the rest will fall. I am so much more confident it can be stopped than I was at 2pm or 3pm, listening to Klopp and looking at social media.

'If one goes, the rest will fall like a pack of cards, I have a spring in my step. A lot of it was hinging on Klopp's interview, as soon as we saw it, it gives you confidence.'

Neville added: 'I like the reaction of the government, royalty' the reaction of fans. But if they get this through, and they've pushed this through in the past, it will change football forever in this country.

'It is difficult not to get emotional and feel sick, but honestly you have got to write to your MPs, to your local football clubs, everybody has got to come behind this.

'Pundits for BBC, ITV, BT Sport, forget allegiances and forget who you support. We have got to come together to stop this proposal.

'This is an attack on everything that has been important in this country. Football has helped in the last 10 months in the midst of a pandemic more than ever to keep people going.'

Football governing bodies UEFA, FIFA, the Premier League, the FA and European Club Association along with football associations in Italy and Spain have shown their disapproval about the 'closed' Super League that goes against 'sporting competition and integrity'.

UEFA have already threatened to ban the sides involved in the Super League from European competitions this season and also prevent their players from taking part in international football.

The Premier League's furious 14 outcasts will hold emergency talks later today to discuss their next move following the announcement of plans to launch the European Super League.

SUPER LEAGUE FULL STATEMENT AND COMPETITION FORMAT

Twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have today [Sunday] come together to announce they have agreed to establish a new mid-week competition, the Super League, governed by its Founding Clubs.

AC Milan, Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur have all joined as Founding Clubs.

It is anticipated that a further three clubs will join ahead of the inaugural season, which is intended to commence as soon as practicable. Going forward, the Founding Clubs look forward to holding discussions with UEFA and FIFA to work together in partnership to deliver the best outcomes for the new League and for football as a whole.

The formation of the Super League comes at a time when the global pandemic has accelerated the instability in the existing European football economic model. Further, for a number of years, the Founding Clubs have had the objective of improving the quality and intensity of existing European competitions throughout each season, and of creating a format for top clubs and players to compete on a regular basis.

The pandemic has shown that a strategic vision and a sustainable commercial approach are required to enhance value and support for the benefit of the entire European football pyramid.

In recent months extensive dialogue has taken place with football stakeholders regarding the future format of European competitions. The Founding Clubs believe the solutions proposed following these talks do not solve fundamental issues, including the need to provide higher quality matches and additional financial resources for the overall football pyramid.

Competition Format

• 20 participating clubs with 15 Founding Clubs and a qualifying mechanism for a further five teams to qualify annually based on achievements in the prior season.

• Midweek fixtures with all participating clubs continuing to compete in their respective national leagues, preserving the traditional domestic match calendar which remains at the heart of the club game.

• An August start with clubs participating in two groups of ten, playing home and away fixtures, with the top three in each group automatically qualifying for the quarter finals.

Teams finishing fourth and fifth will then compete in a two-legged play-off for the remaining quarter-final positions. A two-leg knockout format will be used to reach the final at the end of May, which will be staged as a single fixture at a neutral venue.

As soon as practicable after the start of the men’s competition, a corresponding women’s league will also be launched, helping to advance and develop the women’s game.

The new annual tournament will provide significantly greater economic growth and support for European football via a long-term commitment to uncapped solidarity payments which will grow in line with league revenues. These solidarity payments will be substantially higher than those generated by the current European competition and are expected to be in excess of €10 billion (£8.7bn) during the course of the initial commitment period of the Clubs.

In addition, the competition will be built on a sustainable financial foundation with all Founding Clubs signing up to a spending framework. In exchange for their commitment, Founding Clubs will receive an amount of €3.5 billion (£3bn) solely to support their infrastructure investment plans and to offset the impact of the COVID pandemic. Florentino Perez, President of Real Madrid and the first Chairman of the Super League said: 'We will help football at every level and take it to its rightful place in the world. Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans and our responsibility as big clubs is to respond to their desires.'

Backing the new European league, Andrea Agnelli, Chairman of Juventus and Vice-Chairman of the Super League said: 'Our 12 Founder clubs represent billions of fans across the globe and 99 European trophies. We have come together at this critical moment, enabling European competition to be transformed, putting the game we love on a sustainable footing for the long-term future, substantially increasing solidarity, and giving fans and amateur players a regular flow of headline fixtures that will feed their passion for the game while providing them with engaging role models.'

Joel Glazer, Co-Chairman of Manchester United and Vice-Chairman of the Super League said: 'By bringing together the world’s greatest clubs and players to play each other throughout the season, the Super League will open a new chapter for European football, ensuring world class competition and facilities, and increased financial support for the wider football pyramid.'