Of course the above mentioned changes came about in the build up to the launch of Super League - a kind of Plan B from Andrea Agnelli and the ECA

A new book leads The Telegraph to look back at the first attempt to create a European Super League in 1998, a failed attempt better known as Project Gandalf

Behind Manchester United’s role in ‘Project Gandalf’, 1998’s European Super League plot
Maurice Watkins could not believe the club in 2021 had learned nothing from the first clandestine effort to secede from Uefa 23 years before
https://archive.ph/bYHhP

anyone interested in Project Gandalf might like to look back on my previous posts about it in the autumn before the Super League was launched - they can be found here
search.php?keywords=Gandalf&t=20891&sf=msgonly

So why the focus on Project Gandalf - today is exactly 22 years since UEFA convinced a number of Europe's biggest clubs to stay in the fold by promising to reform their European Club competitions, it is a tactic they have been exploiting ever since - this is how the BBC's website reported it at the time

Friday, October 23, 1998 Published at 16:07 GMT 17:07 UK

Sport: Football

Top clubs reject Super League

U-turn from last year's European champions Real Madrid

Europe's leading football clubs have rejected controversial plans for an independent Super League.
A dozen of the continent's biggest clubs, including Manchester United and Liverpool have announced they will join forces with governing body Uefa, which has already announced reforms of existing European competitions.

The surprise move appears to rule out the plans of a Milan-based media group for a midweek pay-per-view league with no promotion or relegation, although pay TV is still being considered.

Media Partners is refusing to admit defeat, saying the statement changes nothing.

But it appears the clubs and Uefa intend to work more closely than ever seemed possible when the breakaway plans were first revealed.

The U-turn came as a result of the governing body's positive response to the clubs' request to be fully involved in the future direction of European competition.

Representatives from the two English clubs were joined by officials from Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Inter, Juventus, AC Milan, Olympic Marseille, Porto and Real Madrid in talks with UEFA in Geneva.

AC Milan's vice-president Adriano Galliani said: "The 12 clubs present in Geneva have affirmed their wish to work with Uefa.

"We must make concessions, as must Uefa, but we want to remain within the overall European confederation."

Real change of mind

Real Madrid's chairman Lorenzo Sanz, formerly one of the strongest advocates of the breakaway, said: "Uefa understand perfectly our concerns and have presented a very interesting project of long term collaboration with the clubs."

Mr Sanz insisted that the clubs had not only been looking after their own interests, but those of all European sides.

The clubs are backing Uefa's plans to expand the Champions' League to embrace 32 teams, but whether the restructured competition starts in 1999 or 2000 is still undecided.

The governing body's general secretary Gerhard Aigner hailed the accord as the beginning of a new era.

"Uefa decided to speak directly to the clubs and that's due to the new situation in the world of football," he said.

"We are going to continue this dialogue in the interests of European football."

He also paid a veiled compliment to Media Partners for prompting the improved relationship between the clubs and Uefa.

"Plans for an independent Super League forced us to act quickly and improve our co-operation with the clubs.

"On the other hand big clubs had to realise that Uefa had savoir-faire and ideas and was not just a bureaucratic body."

Media Partners said nothing had been ruled in or out by Friday's meeting.

In a statement from Milan, the consortium said: "We are happy if Uefa has finally recognized the legitimacy of the clubs' position.

"We will continue to work closely with the clubs in the coming weeks and months to ensure Uefa's words are turned into deeds and the proper reforms of European competitions takes place."

One thing that has certainly not been ruled out is pay-per-view TV coverage, although Uefa insists it will continue to directly sell broadcasting rights.

Mr Sanz said clubs would act as go-betweens with TV companies and Uefa, but refused to be specific about how this would work.

I have often posted about how the most unlikely types seem to make a great living courtesy of Football's Magic Money Tree, here is a piece from 2017 on one of the original drivers of Project Gandalf who still harbours the dream of a European Super League and the likely millions he can personally make from it - Marco Bogarelli is no friend of football

https://www.sportcal.com/News/FeaturedNews/114021

This bleacher report article from 2016 looks at what would have happened in the attempts to create a European Super League in 1998 (Project Gandalf) had succeeded - it is a lengthy read of an alternate yet acutely familiar reality

https://thelab.bleacherreport.com/what- ... d-in-1998/

A couple of posts looking again at the European Premier League idea and it's backing by JP Morgan - which actually sounds an awful lot like Project Gandalf from 1998 (same teams, same financier)

first up courtesy of my ongoing trawl through the back catalogue at the Unofficial Partner Podcast is this with Craig Morgan on the birth of the Champions League and what has happened since - absolutely fascinating and well worth the 40 or so minutes of your time - This was released in February, prior to the pandemic lockdown

https://www.unofficialpartner.com/podca ... e-question

Also includes incredible detail as to the ongoing delivery, this is critically important to the revenue operation and helps explain why the Premier LEague handbook is totally dominated by rules around the broadcast requirements.