Manchester United executive Ed Woodward was working for the bank when he advised the Glazers on the purchase. Woodward, an advocate of the Super League, is now stepping down at the end of 2021, the club said in a statement on Tuesday.
This time, the latest outcry wasn’t just a fringe group, but a broad response to the rebellion by a dozen of Europe’s biggest clubs, and also the format.
Closed Competition
The renegade teams, along with three more, would have been permanent members and never have to face failure to qualify for the tournament. Five more teams would be added each season to make up the 20-strong league as an alternative to UEFA’s Champions League, the most prestigious European club competition and one that’s open to clubs across the continent.
The idea had would have appealed to American investors, who are increasingly involved in financing European soccer and don’t like the risks that big clubs run of failing to qualify for the Champions League, being relegated from the top national leagues and spiraling costs and wages. But their proposal proved anathema to many European fans, as well as politicians, Prince William and some notable clients.
Paul Marshall, co-founder of hedge fund giant Marshall Wace and a Manchester United fan, retweeted a critical post of the bank by former leader of the pro-Brexit U.K. Independence Party Nigel Farage. JPMorgan is a prime broker for Marshall Wace.
The concept even drew criticism from people on JPMorgan’s payroll. The bank has been one of the most active employers of senior British politicians in recent years, hiring former Prime Minister Tony Blair as an adviser after he left office, as well as former U.K. Chancellor Sajid Javid. However, both men criticized the Super League plans.
A spokesman for Blair said he was against the proposals, according to the Daily Telegraph, while Javid told the U.K. newspaper that the move appeared to be “motivated solely by profit” and called for the clubs involved to be hit with a new super tax if the competition went ahead.
While the furore continues, one former executive at JPMorgan said the bank ultimately won’t be too concerned about the reputational impact and will continue to prioritize lucrative clients like the Glazers, who backed the proposals.
“JPMorgan’s client base is mainly corporate rather than personal, so I don’t see them suffering,” said Kieran Maguire, lecturer in football finance at Liverpool University. “They will be seen as facilitating rather than driving the project.”
—With assistance from Rodrigo Orihuela and Nishant Kumar.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.