ROME, April 19 — Shares in Juventus and Manchester United jumped today after the clubs announced a breakaway European Super League with another 10 of football’s most powerful teams.

The Italian club’s shares rose by nearly 18 per cent to €0.91 (RM4.52) on the Milan stock market, after weeks of having slid since it was eliminated from the Champions League in March.

Manchester United, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was up 8.3 per cent about an hour into US trading.

Overnight, the two clubs confirmed their participation in the new venture alongside other clubs from Italy, England and Spain.

Inter Milan, AC Milan, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have also signed up to the plan, which has sparked outrage from football authorities, fans and pundits.

"The financial incentive for the clubs is plain to see, with a multi-billion dollar package at the heart of the scheme, albeit it would forever break the integrity of the club game,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.

"The sort of additional revenues the ESL will deliver would need to be offset by a potential material decline or total loss of existing earnings from media deals through national leagues and Uefa,” he said. — AFP