Fans would've been outraged either way at the idea of a closed competition, started by only a few big clubs. And honestly bringing in EL level teams would've made the whole thing look like a joke even more. Including Spurs was already laughed at, now imagine the memes with an elite league including a save starting spot for Galatasaray
Big mistake was not having contracts with enough teams. If they were full 18/20 or at least 15 then maybe it could've worked, but we would've still seen the same protests so most likely it would've just taken a little bit longer to break. With the proposed concept there is no way to solve the issue of fans (and coaches, players) being against the whole US franchise sport idea. But that was the main motivation for the clubs so it was bound to fail.
Obviously huge clubs with big domestic fanbases and strong domestic sponsorship opportunities would be competitive if they were in the top 15 of a competition like the SL. Especially with the financial distributions and new yearly global reach.
You only need to look at the Basketball Euro league, another semi-closed system, for evidence.
You may laugh that Galatasaray have fallen out of competency, which is true. But that is down to the shift of financial distributions. Even if they reach the CL, 45% of the financial distribution is not equitably distributed or based on merit. So they would never have a chance to recuperate in current models Even if they make the group stage.
But unlike the clubs in smaller markets like Steaua Bucharest, the giant Russian, Turkish, Dutch, Portuguese and to a lesser extent Greek have huge growth potential that participation in a Super League along with Spanish, Italian, French, German giants, would validate.
It would take a few seasons for them to establish their quality just as EPL clubs like leicester have turned around in a decade thanks to investment, increased rights fees and of course good management.
