On Tuesday night in Rome, a new mural appeared on a wall of the Via Cassini, close to the headquarters of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
It features a stone faced Andrea Agnelli puncturing a football with a golden dagger.
Street artist Lyca named this piece ‘Il Golpe Falito’ (‘The Feld Coupe’), a reference to the prevailing European Super League (ESL) Collapsed almost as fast as it was founded.
Threats and threats by the elite clubs of Europe after decades Talk of a breakaway tournament was resumed on Saturday afternoon.
UEFA had finalized plans for a remodel Champions League, but the chairman of the governing body, Alexander Seferin, confirmed calls from five of ESL’s 12 founders that the rumors were true.
The stunned Slovenian eventually managed to get in touch with the European Club Association (ECA) president Aganelli, who assured him that the whole thing was “rubbish * t”.
“Don’t worry,” said the Italian, “nothing is going on.”
According to Ceferin, after the pair exchanged several calls and agreed to issue a joint statement on the matter, Agnelli promised her to return in an hour. But he was not. Instead, he switched off his phone.
Within 24 hours, Agnelli left the ECA and resigned from his role on the UEFA Executive Committee, and was confirmed as the Vice President of the new ESL.
Just two days after agreeing to UEFA’s proposed changes to the Champions League, Agnelli hit back at him and his friend.
Sefferin called Manchester United’s Ed Woodward, AC Milan’s Ivan Gazidis and Real Madrid’s Pedro Lopes “snakes” But it was Agnelli whom he called the “most disappointing” figure. After all, he was the father of the youngest child of the President of Juventus.
“I don’t want to get too personal, but the fact is that I have never seen a person who lies so often and never does what he did,” Sefferin told reporters on Monday. “It was incredible.”
When asked 24ur On Thursday if she was naive to trust Aganelli, Seiferin replied, “Better to be better than a liar.”
Ceferin was not the only one offended by Agnelli’s alleged betrayal.
In Italy, there was also disgust over how the Bianconeri Supremo, along with Milan CEO Gazidis and Inter counterpart Beppe Marotta, allegedly “sabotaged” Serie A.
As revealed by Torino president Urbano Cairo, Agneli was part of an internal committee set up to oversee the sale of TV rights and 10 per cent in a media company set up by the league to a private investor for around € 1.7 billion (£ 1.5). Was at stake. bn / $ 2bn).
“Therefore, he had an important role in the negotiations,” Cairo told reporters. “A committee of five formed on October 13, 2020 was entrusted to control the negotiations on behalf of all other clubs.
“Suddenly, however, there was a U-turn. Despite a vote from the Legislative Assembly to support the idea, Agnelli and the Inter owners suddenly distanced themselves from it. Now, we know why.
“We now find that all these negotiations between the 12 European clubs were steeped in debt, with secret meetings between Agnelli and (Real Madrid’s president) Florentino Perez.
“This is unfair competition, this is false, this is bad faith. You have been sent by the Serie A club to negotiate on their behalf and meanwhile are negotiating on the other front to remove your own financial problems by damaging the clubs?
As a result, Agnelli received a frosty reception when he appeared at an emergency league meeting on Monday to discuss joining Jule, Inter and Milan in the Super League.
Three ‘rebels’ dubbed by the Italian press insisted that they wanted to remain in Serie A.
However, according to La republica, When told that Juve, Inter and Milan would have such an incredible financial advantage over their rivals that no other team would have the chance to win Scudetto, Agnelli replied, “Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s not like that in the past.” Is this the situation for 80 years? “
His reaction left the other club president shocked but Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero sarcastically called the agnostic a “genius” and told him that he deserved a round of applause.
Cairo was angry: “How can you come here to talk about solidarity when you broke up a conversation with the funds, already knowing that you were doing the Super League?”
Even when he spoke to the press, he was not aware of the apparent imitation of Agneli. “How does someone do that?” He asked in disbelief. “It’s a betrayal.” It is like Judas. “
Meanwhile, Ferrero was struggling to contain his feelings. “Football wouldn’t exist without fans,” he explained Radio mart. “We should take back football. If we follow people on the power journey, then we go nowhere. How dare they?”
“I have always voted against Aganelli, I have never followed him. What did he do in such a delicate moment [for football]The I have no words for him. If I say what I think, they will censor the show. “
Ferrero was also among those calling for sanctions. Former Italy international Antonio Casano even said that Juve, Inter and Milan should be ruled out of Serie A.
Although no action is likely. Lega Serie A is not in a position to take out the Italian members that Seferin has labeled as “The Dirty Dozen”.
They would need the support of FIGC and / or UEFA to remove such a move. However, neither body has, until now, demonstrated a hunger to punish any founder of the Super League.
Sefferin has already welcomed English clubs back into the UEFA family when they exited ESL one by one on Tuesday night, and he now wants to move on They unveiled on the first day of the Champions League.
Meanwhile, FIGC President Gabriel Gravina acknowledged that while the whole matter is underlined “something is not working” within football, “no form of trials or sentences are planned.” An idea that has not materialized cannot be taken for granted. “
So, Italian clubs are set to avoid punishment at the center of this affair. However, Agnelli is set to suffer. His reputation as a visionary leader and brilliant businessman has suffered irreparable damage.
He was the public face of the Super League venture and, along with Peres, was one of the major protagonists behind the curtain. Therefore, its fall within 48 hours has been completely degraded. His great merit is now being questioned.
Agnelli is not just lost face, however, he is lost friends. Are powerful. He is one of football’s most influential figures, arguably its most volatile.
At this time last week, he was running an organization that represents 246 clubs across Europe – and enjoyed an excellent relationship with Seferin. Now, he is a person with no personality in both ECA and UEFA.
According to Corriere dello Sport, Seffrin has spoken to the presidents and presidents of every founding member of the bar ESLL since Tuesday, while former ECA president Karl-Heinz Rammeniges says he currently does not feel compelled to call his successor.
Agnay has more pressing concerns, however, noting that he is facing calls to resign as Juventus president. This in itself is extremely important. First, the agnostic family has owned the club since 1923. Secondly, he is responsible for the destruction of a Juventus reconstruction. Calceopoli.
Since being elected president in 2010, Agnelli has undergone quite a surprise rebirth. He took over a club, which was restarted just four years ago and was transformed into the most prominent domestic force that Italian football had ever seen, winning nine consecutive Scudettes between 2012 and 2020.
However, Agneli’s ultimate goal was to convert Juve into a European superpower. He did not believe that Serie A alone was possible through success.
After asking Juve shareholders to approve a € 300m (£ 340m / £ 260m) capital increase in October, Agnay said, “These numbers seem very high compared to the Italian reality, but our reference is to the great European club.
“When we look at the main clubs in Germany, England and Spain, we see that their turnover in Borosia Dortmund ranges from € 489m (£ 423m / $ 552m) to around € 1bn (£ 865m / $ 1.1bn) in Barcelona. These. Realities should be our benchmark.
“Our current level of turnover, excluding players transfers, is about the level of turnover that Real Madrid took in 2010 under the chairmanship of Juventus.
“It is clear that the growth rate we have developed is higher than that of Real Madrid, but there is still a gap, which we must fill.”
Agnay felt that the only way to fill that gap was more European fixtures. But there was no guarantee. He hated the idea that a club could miss out on Champions League qualification due to “a bad season”.
He described the Champions League as closer to his “Dream” model, as it is set to allocate two places to clubs with high UEFA coefficients who have failed to qualify through their domestic league.
Agnelli wanted more than a safety net, though – he wanted a cast iron guarantee, so he helped build a super league that would feature 15 permanent participants.
Of course, this means separating from UEFA, and walking away from Seferin. It was a huge gamble, and has made a spectacular and rapid comeback.
By then Corriere dello Sport And La republica Tuesday was releasing excerpts from an interview with Agneli late at night, with Agnay claiming that the founders of the Super League had formed a “blood settlement” and that the project had a “100 percent chance of success” in the Premier League. The participants of K were already kicked out.
The insult to the agnostic was complete. He, however, refused to apologize. Notably, Juve’s statement issued at the fall of the Super League also did not refer to fans of the club, some of whom hung a banner outside their stadium reading, “Our history is tarnished, over and over again.” Or should not be commercialized. We are Juventus FC. Not for the Super League … Shame on you! “
Agnay is “convinced of the beauty of the project” and says he has done nothing wrong. He even insists that he is about things in a perfectly acceptable way.
“If you tell me other ways to put projects like this together … If you were to ask the authority of others, I don’t think you would have started such a project,” Agnelli told Reuters on Wednesday..
However, some of Juve’s key figures are disappointed with how it has been handled.
#AgnelliOut was trending on Twitter on Wednesday night, Sportmeadset Was claiming that the president is now in a dangerous position because he now has “many enemies on many levels” with football, Gazetta dello sport It is now suggested that some disgruntled Serie A club owners may also try to sue.
Exor CEO John Alcann is not well discouraged from allegedly handling the entire affair by his cousin and talking to another family member, Alessandro Nasi, who is turning Agnilli into Hale.
He is likely to continue in the presidency but Agneli has completely lost his grip on the European game. He has been turning his phone back on for a long time but no one at UEFA or ECA wants to talk to him.
His reputation is in ruins. His coup has failed.
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