European football was shaken to its core on Sunday, with 12 of the continent’s richest clubs announcing plans to form a breakaway league.
However, just days after the Super League news broke, the competition appears to be over before it began.
The European Super League idea has been abandoned for now - but the idea that drove it will continue to set the big clubs against the masses because they hate what the rest of us love ✍️👇— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 22, 2021
The European Super League idea has been abandoned for now - but the idea that drove it will continue to set the big clubs against the masses because they hate what the rest of us love ✍️👇
The proposed move would have seen multiple clubs competing in a new midweek tournament, designed to replace the UEFA Champions League.
But following a monumental backlash from just about everyone involved with the game, the Super League is crumbling.
Here are the original clubs involved.
As you can see, all of the English Premier League’s so-called “Big Six” were part of the initial breakaway group.
AC Milan, Inter and Juventus were Italy’s representatives, along with Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid from Spain.
However, it has been reported that all but three of the clubs have now pulled out, leaving Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid in limbo.
Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, PSG and Porto have all said they were invited to join the Super League but declined the offer.
Clubs began to pull out following news that UEFA and FIFA were planning to expel players from featuring at the European Championship and the World Cup.
On top of that, the Premier League was threatening to ban all six English sides from competing in the EPL.
At the end of the day, the move is widely viewed as a money-grabbing scheme, created by overseas owners.
In fact, the managers and players of the clubs involved were not even considered when the board members made the decisions.
But above all, the fans were never going to allow this project to happen. Without the fans, football is nothing.
It is difficult to see how the relationships between fans and owners will be mended after displays mistrust of deceit.
We have already seen Ed Woodward step down as Man Utd’s executive vice-chairman, and more big names are likely to follow.
As this story continues to unravel, make sure you keep up to date with all the latest developments through Forebet.