If you were to be ultra cynical you could see this as a huge 'scam' perpetrated by the big clubs in order to force UEFA to give them everything they wanted ...
Let's face it the whole debacle is weird, there has been zero attempt by the mysterious ESL to promote their idea, to tell us it's benefits, to sell it to us in anyway. No owners, chairmen, players have come out with statements in support, no documents or financial projections have been released, in fact apart from telling us "their are 12 teams already involved" what have we been told that isn't just media created gossip and pure speculation?
Now just a few days later with no financial cost, sure they got dogs abuse but they get that anyway, not only have they got UEFA to release the planned 2024 European Football structure, it would appear that structure falls in line with what UEFA just a few weeks ago had refused to concede, namely the big clubs are pretty much guaranteed entry just as they are now, the big clubs will be seeded on long term co-efficient effectively guaranteeing the same seeds every year, the big clubs will get to play home and away in a league format, again almost ensuring that the odd 'giant-killing' will not stop the same top sixteen making up the vast majority of every seasons final sixteen, and crucially that the money generated will be shared based on performance again almost guaranteeing that the vast majority goes to the big clubs.
In short the "big clubs" have got exactly what they wanted a European Super League in all but name dominated by an elite few who will suck up nearly all the cash generated, and they achieved all that by creating the magical "ESL" what now appears to be little more than a paper exercise.
Have we all been played? looking at that one could easily believe that we have ......