Kenya international Victor Wanyama has condemned the failed Super League plans.
Three days ago, the football world was rocked when the announcement of a breakaway Super League featuring Europe's most elite clubs was made but the move failed to get off the ground. A number of clubs withdrew less than 48 hours after their participation was confirmed.
The Super League concept was sought to establish a new competition involving 20 clubs - with 15 permanent ones, called the "founding clubs" - and five guest teams who would be selected for involvement each season based on the results of their previous domestic seasons.
Among the teams that had joined the fray include Wanyama’s former club Tottenham Hotspur but in an interview with the media, the 29-year-old, who currently features for CF Montreal in the Major League Soccer, has come out to castigate the move terming it ‘greed and not football.’
“It’s a big shock to see this. A lot of things happen like this and that’s not football,” Wanyama said in the video.
“Football is not about greed, football is about the fans, and not only about individuals. If we end up doing these things, it’s not good for football. Hopefully, they can get their house in order.
“We shouldn’t put our interests and spoil the game. Football is a beautiful game, we have to respect that and let everything run normally.”
Apart from Tottenham, the other clubs in the list included: five from the Premier League (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United); three from La Liga (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid); and three from Serie A (Inter, Juventus, AC Milan).
But in dramatic fashion, two days after the Super League announcement, all six Premier League clubs outlined their intentions to withdraw from the project.
Clubs from Spain and Italy followed a day later, with Juventus chief Andrea Agnelli admitting the project was effectively over.
The Super League was intended to be similar to the Champions League in that it was a knockout tournament featuring Europe's most elite clubs.