UEFA's cowardly failure to uphold the values of the game has left clubs on the brink of collapse | UEFA
What do you think of the multi-club model? I think it's a shame that EU clubs are becoming subsidiaries of the European elite. On the other hand, Bordeaux is bankrupt and the only real option to save it seemed to be for it to pass into the hands of Liverpool's FSG..- Declan
It is a scandal and this should never have been allowed to go this far. Why should big clubs that have a proud history and identity, in the case of Bordeaux, More than a centuryWill Bordeaux teams, where they have won six French league titles, become breeding grounds for bigger clubs? I don't know what Bordeaux fans think, but certainly in the UK I think many fans would rather their club go bust and start again at the bottom of the pyramid than lose their independence and identity. I'm a Sunderland fan and I'd rather we played in the sixth tier as ourselves rather than effectively being Manchester United's fourth team. One of the big lies about fans is that it's all about winning; far more important is being – and representing – what you are.
Under President Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA has become a dysfunctional body in a million different ways, which has been allowed to happen while everyone was concerned about FIFA's far more egregious failings, but its No measures have been taken regarding multi-club models It is probably the worst thing. It is a tacit acceptance of a quasi-franchise modelwhich may make sense in terms of generating revenue for those at the top, but is anathema to everything European football used to be and should be.
The question is not really a short-term one about whether Bordeaux needs this to survive, or even about Bordeaux, which has been Catastrophically mismanaged for years – And Gérard López, who took over in 2021, hasn’t really helped. It’s more about how football has got itself into a position where so many traditional clubs are in such dire financial straits that they believe being taken over by a superclub is the only solution. Football is by far the most popular sport in the world – what does that say about UEFA’s regulation that, with all the money being wasted on the game, so many are facing ruin?
There has been a cowardly failure to uphold the values of the game, a
The lack of will to fight against elite greed. And now we have the absurd spectacle of UEFA granting exemptions to clubs that share at least partial ownership (Leipzig and Salzburg; Manchester City and Girona; Manchester United and Nice) to compete in the same competition, a clear attack on the integrity of the competition. And that is without even mentioning possible shenanigans with the Financial Fair Play or Profit and Sustainability rules. Brazilian striker SavinhoFor example, Troyes (majority owner: City Group) signed this player in 2023 and loaned him to Girona (minority owner: City Group) for a season before selling him this summer to Manchester City (majority owner: City Group). How can anyone even begin to set a fair value for that transfer, to make sure a club isn’t overpaying to help out a family member or that family member isn’t offering him a cheap deal that wouldn’t be available to an outsider? It’s a mess and UEFA has allowed it to play out.
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With Kylian Mbappé and Endrick arriving at Real Madrid, is there any hope of anyone else winning the Champions League? – James
Both are exceptional players, but football is less about individuals than about the team. Endrick is a centre-forward, but if he plays in his natural position he occupies the space in which Jude Bellingham was so successful last season. Where will Kylian Mbappé play?? If he plays on the left, as he usually prefers, that means there is no room for Vinícius Júnior, whose pace and movement on the counter have been so important to his European successes. But if he plays through the centre, where does Endrick go? And what about Bellingham? Perhaps Madrid could switch from a basic 4-3-3 system to something more like the one France are using this summer, a 4-3-1-2, with Bellingham behind Vinícius and Mbappé, but that still means two players who naturally want to come in from the left on to their stronger right foot. Plus, Mbappé is not the most diligent player out of possession, which can create structural problems.
Carlo Ancelotti has shown throughout his career that he knows how to manage egos and find structures that accommodate multiple stars, but this seems like one of those signings where a great player joins a great team and makes it worse. That said, Barcelona are a disaster, Madrid should win La Liga.
What do you think is the most pressing concern regarding refereeing and rules ahead of the new season? Mel
It will be VAR, as it always is these days. Semi-automatic offside in the Premier League is a welcome addition and should speed things up and make decisions more accurate. But no one has managed to come up with a workable definition of handball now that everything can be seen and replayed, and confusion over when catching a player on the follow-through is a foul (see Denzel Dumfries talks about Harry Kane The situation is getting worse thanks to England's penalty against Holland.
This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, the Guardian US's weekly look at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Do you have a question for Jonathan? Email footballwithjw@theguardian.comand will respond better in a future edition.
