Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani praises James Corden after he slams European Super League on American television

The owner of Leeds United, Andrea Radrizzani, has praised James Corden after he criticised the European Super League plans live on American television.
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Reports emerged on Sunday that the Premier League’s so-called ‘big six’ of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur intended to join a rebel competition.

Those plans were confirmed later that evening, with AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid joining as founding clubs with three more clubs expected to follow before the inaugural season.

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Corden, who found fame on shows like Gavin & Stacey but now presents The Late Late Show, opened his show with an emotional monologue criticising the plans.

The former A League of Their Own presenter said: "The truth is that this whole thing....will kill hundreds of other football teams that compete with them and have competed with them many times over the years, disregarding the fan bases of those teams and the fan bases of their own teams who are devastated about this too."

He added: "It's hard to express how much communities rely on football, not just financially, which is considerable, but football is a focal point of a towns hopes and dreams.

"These dreams, they've just been shattered not just in Britain, across Europe. And the reason the dreams have been shattered and discarded is so that a group of billionaires can buy themselves a bigger boat or a second boat.

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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 a global force."

James Corden said he was "devastated" about plans to form a European Super League.James Corden said he was "devastated" about plans to form a European Super League.
James Corden said he was "devastated" about plans to form a European Super League.
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The West Ham fan then expressed his concerns that the move would be the end of football as we know it.

He said: "And 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.

"Don't ever forget that it was them, those owners.

He added: "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."

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Taking to twitter, Radrizzani, who has owned the club since 2017, responded to Corden with a simple clapping emoji, saying "well done James".

He has responded in kind to other key figures who have criticised the move, including Luis Figo and Gary Neville.

Earlier, he hit out at the idea on social media, replying to an Italian journalist on Twitter over the plans.

"[It's] absolutely against the sporting spirit, the dream of millions of fans to conquer the championships on the field, with planning, vision, work," Radrizzani said.

"[It] kills dreams of club players and fans. The teams are fans and WE are the keepers of the club."