12 of Europe’s top clubs, including English giants Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, grabbed the headlines this week after they announced a breakaway Super League, with guaranteed places regardless of results.
The plans for the Super League have been shelved for now after they were received with a severe backlash and the government threatened to intervene, but continue to be a hot topic of discussion.
Former Celtic manager Barnes has insisted that the Hoops and their Glasgow rivals Rangers would have taken the opportunity to join the Super League had they been invited.
Barnes revealed that there was talk of the Scottish giants joining clubs from countries including the Netherlands, Portugal to form a North Atlantic league when he was the manager of Celtic, before asserting the Glasgow giants would want to join a profitable league if they were given the chance.
“Back when I was Celtic manager, there was talk of Rangers and Celtic breaking away from the Scottish league with a North Atlantic League“, Barnes told BonusCodeBets.
“Unfortunately, as the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga was so strong, they were talking about a North Atlantic league.
“You had a couple of Dutch teams, Portuguese teams, Celtic and Rangers, so the second-tier leagues [in Europe], who wanted to break away and form another one to get more money.
“It is sad to say because Scottish football wouldn’t be there without them, if they were offered a chance [at a profitable international league] they would likely take it.”
While the Super League has been shelved, for now, it remains to be seen if the flagbearers of the competition will revive the idea in the future.
