The European Super League may sue UEFA

According to Italian media reports, the European Super League is considering legal action against UEFA, seeking compensation to redress the coercive actions taken by the European football governing body since 2021. According to information obtained by Italian media Calcio e Finanza from relevant sources, the maximum claim amount could reach up to €3.6 billion.

The European Super League's lawsuit against UEFA - What decision did the European Court make?
It is reported that the compensation amount was determined through structured analysis after preliminary discussions with various experts, considering the potential delay of three to four years due to restrictive rules and economic sanctions threatening the launch of the new competition. The court's ruling reignited the vitality of this project, albeit in different forms. The judgment explicitly states that the European football governing body holds a monopoly position in organizing European football competitions.

Specifically, this ruling is fully binding and not subject to appeal, declaring that UEFA and FIFA's actions in 2021 to block the European Super League project were illegal as they violated EU law and principles supporting it, such as freedom of competition and freedom to provide services throughout the EU. The court pointed out that UEFA dominates the European club football competition market and abuses this position by implementing statutes to effectively prevent the formation and competition of new competitions. Therefore, the ruling confirms that European football is constrained by serious and illegal restrictions and anti-competitive private rules, which is why all event initiatives launched by European football clubs or any other stakeholders in the past, including the European Super League in 2021, were destined to fail.

For these reasons, the European Super League intends to seek compensation claims of up to €3.6 billion due to the restrictive rules and sanctions threats imposed by the two governing bodies, making the project impossible. Therefore, the European Super League project could have developed independently if the regulatory framework and abusive behavior of UEFA and FIFA did not exist.

The European Super League's compensation claim against UEFA - How was the compensation generated?
According to statements from parties related to the European Super League, damages have manifested across various domains. Firstly, negotiations, documentation, and assurances by JPMorgan investment bank secured €4 billion in funding intended for participating clubs. However, due to UEFA's actions, the project was halted in 2021, and the loans were never disbursed. Consequently, highly favorable interest rates that could have been obtained in the market at that time were no longer available, constituting one of the bases for the European Super League company's compensation claim. The financing involved was akin to a mortgage with fixed annual payments.

At the time of the European Super League's announcement, loans could have been obtained at a 3% interest rate, whereas current market rates are estimated to reach 6%. The present value difference between these two outcomes amounts to approximately €1 billion, which quantifies the damage incurred by the European Super League in this regard. The envisaged European Super League in 2021 and its development by the end of 2023 would involve a greater number of high-quality matches among so-called big clubs, highlighting significant audience disparities compared to some lower-quality matches provided by the UEFA Champions League currently (referring to matches between medium or small clubs in the Champions League versus the high-level matches in the European Super League). Therefore, the television broadcasting rights value of the European Super League is evidently expected to be (and is anticipated to be) higher.

The key question is: by how much higher compared to the revenue UEFA generates from selling its matches in the market? Conservative estimates by the European Super League indicate that the value would be 30% higher, but more "aggressive" analyses suggest 50% or even 100% higher, nearly doubling the revenue UEFA receives. In the first scenario (30%), the loss of revenue exceeds €700 million, while in the second scenario (50%), the total amount even reaches €1.2 billion. These include estimates of stadium revenue, taking into account the actual lower guaranteed match numbers for clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League. Calculated by inflation, the total loss in average match revenue per home game over three years exceeds €500 million. Finally, the European Super League believes it has also suffered damages in the commercial domain.

According to the organizers, under the announced match format, the global impact of participating clubs would significantly increase as there would be more viewers and greater exposure. This would lead to increased sponsorship revenue over time. Data in this regard suggest that holding the European Super League as planned over three years could increase commercial revenue by 10%, although this is also considered a conservative estimate. Overall, considering all aspects (JPMorgan's funds, television broadcasting rights revenue, stadium revenue, and commercial revenue), the compensation claim brought by the European Super League against UEFA ranges from €3.6 billion to €3.61 billion.