The Super League is SUSPENDED after Big Six all pull out following furious backlash from fans, players and pundits, with Man City and Chelsea leading the way... and Ed Woodward RESIGNS as Manchester United chief on an explosive night
* All six English clubs that signed up to the European Super League have quit the project amid a huge backlash
* The group were among 12 clubs that agreed to join a breakaway movement which was announced on Sunday
* Manchester City and Chelsea were the first to reveal their intentions, with the other four following suit
* A statement made by the Super League confirmed its suspension after all six English clubs pulled out
* Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward will step down from his role at the end of the year
* Controversial plans would have afforded the 12 teams access to a European competition with no relegation
* However, amid widespread condemnation, plans are unraveling and the concept appears close to collapse
The reviled European Super League was officially suspended on Tuesday night as all six English clubs formally withdrew from the ill-fated venture.
On another dramatic night when Chelsea fans staged a mass protest outside Stamford Bridge before their Premier League clash with Brighton, City and Chelsea began the process of killing off the rebel league less than 48 hours after its launch by pulling out late in the afternoon, putting huge pressure on the other 10 founder members to follow suit, as they held crisis talks over their exit strategies.
No sooner had they thrown in the towel than Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, one of the architects of the new rebel movement, sensationally announced his resignation. And, before the night was through, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham had followed suit.
A statement from the League then followed, in which it confirmed it 'shall reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project'.
The match, which ended goalless but was almost an irrelevance, was delayed after hundreds of fans protested about their club’s involvement outside Stamford Bridge. The astonishing developments appeared to kill off the planned new league at birth, with strong indications from Spain on Tuesday night that Barcelona and Atletico Madrid were also quitting.
Chelsea supporters protested on Tuesday night before news of the club's withdrawal emerged ahead of their Brighton clash
A statement appeared on the Manchester City website confirming their departure from the European Super League
Sportsmail has learned that all the clubs could face financial penalties for pulling out as the ESL contract signed last week contained clauses committing them for at least three years. Yet all concluded that taking an economic hit was a price worth paying for limiting the reputational damage.
They may be too late for that. Chelsea and City were never fully convinced and felt railroaded after being presented with a ‘take-it-or-leave it’ offer last Thursday.
Pep Guardiola was fuming about the ESL plans on Tuesday before it was announced his club was pulling out. ‘It is not a sport if success is already guaranteed,’ the City boss said.
‘When it doesn’t matter whether you lose, when the relation between effort and reward does not exist. It’s business, it’s money. It is not fair. You have to play the competitions that you deserve to play.
‘Everyone can complain... Ajax, Sevilla, Leicester, West Ham. It’s normal. I would be the same.
‘Why haven’t they (the ESL board) clarified the reasons for their decisions? Come out and explain. It’s unfair for the managers and players to respond to this. Liverpool go to Leeds and Jurgen (Klopp) and the players are criticised. We are not involved. They have to clarify. Go out and explain it.’
The speed of events represents a humiliation for the league’s chairman Florentino Perez, and the American owners of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, who were key to the project. As recently as Tuesday morning,
Chelsea were staying in despite the furore, but a series of meetings led to a change of heart. Roman Abramovich is understood to have taken the ultimate decision due to concerns about a backlash.
Chelsea have launched several community-led initiatives during the pandemic and believed that the toxic competition would undo that good work.
The club’s decision to request paperwork to withdraw was taken ahead of the protests outside the ground, though the gathering of fans who were addressed by technical director Petr Cech may have hastened the information becoming public.
An official statement finally came in the early hours of the morning, with Chelsea stating: 'Having joined the group late last week, we have now had time to consider the matter fully and have decided that our continued participation in these plans would not be in the best interests of the Club, our supporters or the wider football community.'
City owner Sheik Mansour was also concerned about reputational damage having built up goodwill in the blue half of Manchester for achievements on the pitch, as well as the investment to regenerate run-down areas of the city.
Many supporters chose to sit in protest with a group singing: 'If you love football, sit down', a move that prevented the two team coaches from reaching the ground
A backlash from fans saw hundreds withdraw memberships, a tiny allocation for Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final go unsold and anti-ESL banners placed outside the Etihad.
Both Mansour and Abramovich have spent heavily since buying their respective clubs and unlike other members of the Big Six, have no external debts, a major factor for the other clubs who signed up hoping for a huge increase in revenues.
Furious discussions took place at both clubs over unilateral decisions made to join without the knowledge of executive teams, with some directors feeling sidelined.
The incredible events vindicate the stance taken by the rest of the Premier League, who in a meeting of the other 14 clubs on Tuesday opted to lobby the rebels into pulling out of the ESL rather than punishing them immediately.
UEFA were also celebrating a huge victory on Tuesday night, with the speed of the rebels’ collapse obliterating any leverage they might have had in opposing the governing body’s planned Champions League reforms.
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