Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will begin the process of withdrawing from the proposed European Super League, the clubs confirmed on Tuesday.
Chelsea are also expected to leave the proposed league, ESPN sources confirmed.
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The reversal is an amazing change for 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.
Man City was the first club to announce, making a brief statement: “Manchester City football club can confirm that it has formally adopted the withdrawal procedures from the group developing plans for a European Super League.”
In their statement, Arsenal “apologized” to their supporters, adding: “It was never our intention to cause such suffering, however, when the invitation came to join the Superliga, although we knew there were no guarantees, no we wanted to be left alone to make sure we protected the Arsenal and its future. “
Liverpool said its involvement in the three-day project had been “interrupted”, while Manchester United said they were withdrawing from the deal. Tottenham also said that they would not participate.
After Manchester City announced their departure, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said: “I am delighted to welcome you. [Manchester City] back to the family of European football. They showed great intelligence in listening to many voices – especially their fans.
“It takes courage to admit a mistake, but I never doubted that they had the ability and common sense to make that decision. The city is a real asset to the game and I’m excited to work with them for a better future. for Europeans game. “
The news about Chelsea was first reported by the BBC and confirmed by ESPN’s James Olley. The club has not yet made an official statement.
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. 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.”
Perez, who was scheduled to appear on Tuesday night on the Spanish radio program “El Larguero” on Cadena SER, gave up the interview to attend meetings related to the proposed league, according to the show’s host, Manu Carreno.
Ahead of their scoreless draw with Brighton on Tuesday, a group of Chelsea players 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.
Earlier in the day, the other 14 Premier League clubs met to discuss the crisis with the Football Association.
The Premier League on Tuesday issued a statement saying it had “unanimously and vigorously rejected” the plans and considered taking action to hold the six clubs accountable.
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 it could impose sanctions on clubs and players involved in the separatist competition. Super League news has also sparked concerns from public figures such as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Pope Francis.
UEFA voted on Monday the changes in the format of the Champions League, extending it from 32 teams to 36 with the remodeled tournament, starting at the beginning of the 2024-25 season.
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.
Reuters contributed to the report.