Some 240 football clubs, which make up the European Club Organization, have recently received an intriguing letter signed by Nasser al-Khalifi, the organization's chairman and president of the Paris Saint-Germain football club.
In the letter, the Qatari businessman lays out the main points of the agreement for the sale of the broadcasting and marketing rights of the Champions League in the years 2027-2024 and mentions for the first time the astronomical amount that the agreement will yield: 15 billion euros in three years.
In case you were wondering, this is a 40 percent jump!
A partial explanation for the drastic increase in receipts lies in the increase in the number of games, which stems from the fact that the number of teams in the Champions League will increase from 3224 from 32 to 36, and the format of the competition will change.
The additional explanation brings us back to the failed attempt of some of the European luxury clubs to disengage from the UEFA and establish the Super League, in order to increase their profits.
First, the failed revolt led to a male exchange led by the European Club Organization.
Andrea Aneili, the president of Juventus and one of the initiators of the Super League (to serve as its vice-chairman), was replaced by al-Khalifi, one of the few of the leaders of the luxury teams who did not join the UEFA uprising.
Al-Khalifi did not spare criticism from the founders of the Super League (among other things, he called them "losers" and "hallucinations"), and probably aimed not only at the hearts of ordinary football spectators, but also the hearts of Alexander Chaprin, the dominant UEFA president Direction, and not wrong.
Alexander Chaprin, Photo: AP
This is how the strongest axis in today's world football was created.
Although the alliance between Chaprin and al-Khalifi was formed in response to the alliance of the conspirators of Florentino Perez, Andrea Aneili and Joan Laporta, the Slovenian and Qatari are not really going to stop.
After suppressing the Super League uprising, they are determined to take complete control of football on the old continent, and the big money that accompanies the Champions League will be a crucial component in this takeover.
The increased receipts may reassure the leading clubs (in the end, the motive behind the Super League venture was also economic) and explain to all those undecided that it would be better to befriend the Chaprin-al-Khalifi couple than to quarrel with either of them.
Meanwhile, the message has been received, and the stick-and-carrot method is bearing fruit for the UEFA president and chairman of the European Club Organization.
Aurelio de Laurentiis, the president of Naples, is the only one who dares to go against the axis and say what others think in their hearts.
De Laurentiis accuses UEFA of surrendering to Qatari money and claims that all of European football has been taken hostage by foreign elements, with no connection to the continent.
If one listens carefully to de Laurentius' arguments, one realizes that another battle is taking place before us in the Qatari effort to translate money into influence.
It started in the media with the establishment of al-Jazeera and continued in sports.
Sometimes the Qataris succeed (for the way they won the World Cup more books will be written), sometimes they are forced to make a tactical retreat (their attempt to acquire Barcelona in 2015 failed, and Juan Laporta, then the great opposition, was a big part of his failure), but they persevere and do not give up The big destination.
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