James Corden slams plans for new European Super League: ‘The worst kind of greed I’ve ever seen in sport’

James Corden raged against the European Soccer League. The Late Late Show with James Corden/YouTube

James Corden made an impassioned plea against proposed plans to establish a European Super League on Monday’s episode of “The Late Late Show,” repeatedly describing the controversial breakaway league as a “disgusting” plan driven by the greed of soccer club owners.

Over the weekend, 12 of Europe’s biggest soccer clubs including Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Manchester City rocked the international game after announcing plans to form the breakaway league, which will be financed by Wall Street bank JP Morgan and aims to rival the UEFA Champions League as the continent’s biggest club competition.

The plans, which will see the league’s founding teams given automatic qualification regardless of merit, have been almost universally condemned with ex-footballers, fans, and politicians all speaking out against the league. Corden, who is a lifelong fan of London soccer club West Ham United, tabled his own criticism.

He said: “I’m heartbroken by it, genuinely heartbroken by it. I’m heartbroken because the owners of these teams have displayed the worst kind of greed I’ve ever seen in sport.”

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could face playing bans if they join the league. Getty/Nicolo Campo

He continued: “The truth is, this whole thing, making this move, these teams, these owners are killing, they will kill hundreds of other football teams that compete with them and have competed with them many times over the years, disregarding the fanbases of those teams and disregarding the fanbases of their own teams who are devastated too.”

Corden, who was born in London, continued to describe the working-class roots of European soccer and attempted to provide context about the severity of the situation for American viewers by comparing plans for the Super League to a metaphoric plan forged by A-list actors like Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Saoirse Ronan, and Viola Davis to create their own spin-off awards show where only they could be nominated.

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“Football is a working-class game where anyone can beat anyone on their day, and it’s that that makes it incredible, it’s that that’s made it the global force it is today,” he said. “If this happens, and unfortunately I really do think it will, I don’t want to be overdramatic but I do think it’s the end of the sport that we love. It truly is. I think it’s going to happen and I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it.”

The idea of the Super League has been floated for years, and talks were first reported in October. The news was officially announced via a statement on each of the 12 clubs’ respective websites late on Sunday night. It has been suggested that clubs from Germany, France, or Portugal may be added to the league.

On Monday, the Financial Times reported that each of the founding member teams will be given between 100 million to 350 million euros ($120 million to $420 million) for joining.

Concluding his monologue, Corden said that he believes the league will go ahead despite the backlash, but he told fans to remember the club owners who made this decision.

“Don’t ever forget that it was them, those owners,” he said. “They took something so pure and so beautiful and they beat the love and the joy out of it and they did it for money. They just did it for money. And it’s disgusting.”

Watch James Corden’s full monologue down below:

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