Chelsea and Manchester City have decided to begin the process of withdrawing from the proposed European Super League, ESPN sources confirmed.
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The reversal is an amazing transformation for the two English Premier League clubs after Sunday’s announcement that they are among the 12 biggest football teams in Europe that intend to break away from the UEFA Champions League.
The news about Chelsea was first reported by the BBC and confirmed by ESPN’s James Olley, while Sun first reported on Manchester City, confirmed by ESPN’s Rob Dawson. Neither party officially commented on the decision.
The 12 clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus – have insisted that ESL will provide greater financial support for the pyramid. football with a planned solidarity payment of EUR 10 billion to non-participating clubs to be distributed over an initial period of 23 years.
Super League organizers, led by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, said they hoped to add three more founding members before launching their competition “as soon as possible.”
The developments took place before Chelsea’s Premier League match against Brighton on Tuesday at Stamford Bridge. A group of Chelsea players have addressed President Bruce Buck to say they oppose the proposed league, sources told Olley.
Several hundred fans gathered outside Stamford Bridge a few hours before the launch to express their opposition to the club’s plan to enter the new competition.
The technical and performance director, Petr Cech, was seen on the room asking the fans to let the team’s bus enter the ground, because the fans blocked their access to the stadium.
Then the news leaked that the blues were preparing documentation to reverse their decision to join, causing cheers and chants of “I saved football” from fans who had been moved about 300 meters away from the main entrance point of the the stadium.
Meanwhile, in Spain, Barcelona’s participation in a new league would be conditioned by the vote of the members of the League club in favor of the proposal, according to ESPN Deportes and the Spanish media reports.
Catalan TV3 reported that President Barca’s contract, Joan Laporta, signed with the other 11 founding member clubs, included a clause that allowed the club to withdraw from the agreement if its members disagreed.
The report added that Laporta met on Tuesday with Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman to explain the club’s position in the Superliga and arranged to speak on Wednesday with club captains Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto.
Barcelona was not immediately available for comment.
Unlike the Champions League competition, where teams have to qualify through their domestic league, the founding teams of the Super League would be guaranteed a place in the new competition every year.
UEFA has warned that it could impose sanctions on clubs and players participating in the separatist competition and has also sparked concerns from public figures such as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Pope Francis.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino told the 12 European separatist European Super League clubs on Tuesday that they could not be “half, half of the established football system and have to face the reality of their decision.
A number of top players at the six Premier League clubs have expressed concern about UEFA’s threat to ban them from playing for their countries in international tournaments, including the 2022 Qatar World Cup.