Football Super League breakaway drama: Who are the daring dozen?

Twelve of football’s most powerful clubs have announced a breakaway European Super League that could have far-reaching implications for the game. Six English Premier League teams — Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham — are involved, alongside Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan. The clubs, most of them saddled with debt and large wage bills, and hit hard by the pandemic, stand to benefit financially, with predictions that they will share billions of euros. Here is a look at the 12 teams already signed up to the Super League:

Liverpool: England’s most recent champions in Europe and also the current defending Premier League champions — albeit out of the running for domestic and continental trophies this season. They are the most successful English team in Europe, with titles in the European Cup in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005, 2019. They also have three Europa League/Uefa Cup titles.

Manchester United: By far the most successful club in the Premier League and also claimed three titles as kings of Europe in 1968, 1999, 2008.

Arsenal: Mikel Arteta’s side are currently in a slump, but were the Invincibles in the 2003-04 season under Arsene Wenger. They have never won the European Cup but claimed the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1993—94.

Chelsea: The Londoners underwent an overhaul when Roman Abramovich took over in 2003, and won the Champions League in 2011—12. They also claimed the Europa League in 2012—13 and 2018—19.

Manchester City: The kings of English football in the past decade, but have perennially come up short in Europe. They are — as it stands — in the semi-finals of the Champions League this season.

Tottenham: The roller-coaster side of England, having come so close to domestic and European success, but ultimately always the bridesmaids.

Real Madrid: The undoubted cream of European royalty with an incredible 13 Champions League titles in — 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018. It could have been more as they were runners-up in 1962, 1964, 1981. I’m sure they do not mark their two Europa League titles that highly.

Barcelona: The Catalans are regarded as the only real rivals to Real in Spain, but they pale in comparison on the European stage. with a ‘measly’ five titles in 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015.

Atletico Madrid: The ‘third’ team in Spain have had a resurgence of late in La Liga and are currently top of the standings. They have yet to win the top prize in Europe.

Juventus: With Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks, they have dominated the Italian Serie scene for almost a decade. They also have two European Cup crowns to their name — 1985 and 1996 — the latter being remembered for Zinedine Zidane’s famous match-winning overhead-kick goal, regarded as the best in the history of the tournament.

Inter Milan: Having stuttered in recent times, the former European giants won the major crown in 1964, 1965 and 2010. They have had a resurgence and lead Serie A this season.

AC Milan: Italy’s most successful club with seven European Cups in their trophy cabinet, having been crowned champions in 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003 and 2007, they were runners up four times.