All six English clubs have announced their withdrawal from the breakaway European Super League following protests, and furious condemnations from the footballing community including football’s governing bodies. The six clubs are Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham.
Their announcement to withdraw from the breakaway European Super League came just 48 hours after their initial announcement to join the breakaway competition. Manchester City were the first club to announce their withdrawal followed by Chelsea and the remaining four; Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham followed suit.
The Premier League on the 20th of April held a virtual meeting with the 14 other clubs in the league where they ‘unanimously and vigorously’ rejected the Super League plans by the Top Six sides in the league. A statement released following the meeting said: “The Premier League is considering all actions available to prevent it from progressing, as well as holding those Shareholders involved to account under its rules.”
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Tottenham Chairman, Daniel Levy said in a statement released by the club, “We regret the anxiety and upset caused by the ESL proposal.”
Arsenal apologised for their ‘mistake’ saying: “As a result of listening to you and the wider football community over recent days we are withdrawing from the proposed Super League. We made a mistake, and we apologise for it.”
Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool were straightforward in announcing their withdrawal from the European Super League. Liverpool said their ‘involvement has been discontinued’. While Chelsea said they have ‘begun the formal procedures for withdrawal from the group developing plans for a European Super League.’
Manchester United said “We have listened carefully to the reaction from our fans, the UK government and other key stakeholders.” While Manchester City said they have ‘formally enacted the procedures to withdraw from the group developing plans for a European Super League.’
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In response to their exits, the European Super League released a statement saying they have been forced to make decisions due to the pressure on them.
A statement read: ‘Despite the announced departure of the English clubs, forced to take such decisions due to the pressure put on them, we are convinced our proposal is fully aligned with European law and regulations as was demonstrated today by a court decision to protect the Super League from third party actions.’
Given the current circumstances, we shall reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project, always having in mind our goals of offering fans the best experience possible while enhancing solidarity payments for the entire football community.’
The European Super League is convinced that the current status quo of European football needs to change. We are proposing a new European competition because the existing system does not work.’
Our proposal is aimed at allowing the sport to evolve while generating resources and stability for the full football pyramid, including helping to overcome the financial difficulties experienced by the entire football community as a result of the pandemic.’
Out of the 12 clubs that jointly announced the breakaway Super League proposals, nine of them have officially withdrawn from the breakaway away league leaving only three of them namely Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
