All six English clubs involved in the European Super League plans have dramatically quit the hated competition following a huge backlash from fans.
Like dominoes, one-by-one clubs fell back into line with their Premier League rivals, a mere 72 hours after proposing a seismic – and much-maligned – change to the beautiful game.
In a huge victory for fans, who for days have vented their fury at the proposals, members of the so-called Big Six each released statements – some more grovelling than others – announcing they would be pulling out of the European Super League.
Already mega-rich Manchester City were first to officially break rank last night by announcing they would turn their back on the £4.6billion proposals.
Then, in a stunning twist to the saga, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur suddenly announced they would follow suit.
And Chelsea, who are thought to have been the first to break rank, became the last to formally announce plans to pull out of the proposals. The club released a statement released late last night after their Premier League clash with Brighton.
European clubs such as Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Italian sides AC and Inter Milan later followed in the footsteps of English sides by pulling out of the project.
Uefa chiefs welcomed the return of the European Super League sides, and urged a refocus on the organisation’s flagship club tournament, the Champions League – which is due to be expanded to include more teams from across the continent.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson, who had earlier described the project as a ‘cartel’ threatened to show the plans the ‘straight red card’, said the decision to quit the breakaway league was ‘the right one’.
The dramatic collapse, which took place over the course of just four hours, led organisers behind the European Super League to announce a suspension to the project.
But in warning shot that indicated that the saga might not yet be fully over, organisers behind the breakaway competition released a statement saying that ‘status quo of European football needs to change’.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden today welcomed the collapse of the European Super League following the withdrawal of the ‘big six’ English Premier League clubs.
Mr Dowden told Sky News: ‘It is victory for fans. The country has been united in condemning these proposals. The Government has stood firmly behind the footballing authorities in saying we will do whatever it takes to stop this proposal.
‘We were willing to take very bold measures to stop this proposal going ahead. I am very glad that the fans, with the backing of the Government and others, have had their say.’
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