Lethal blow to the Super League: the six English clubs withdraw

Manchester City was the first to make official through a statement released on its social networks its withdrawal from the European Super League project whose creation was announced on Sunday night with the English club as one of its founders. Hours later the other five teams of the Premier founders of the Super League also sealed their resignation. Pressure from fans and government agencies forced a withdrawal en bloc that leaves the viability of the new project up in the air. "Manchester City Football Club can confirm that it has formally initiated the procedures to withdraw from the group that develops plans for a European Super League," read the statement that opened the dissident sequence. The outcry against the new competition had already prompted the resignation of Ed Woodward

as CEO of Manchester United.

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• High tension in England for the Super League

This afternoon, the City coach, Pep Guardiola, had added his voice to that of dozens of players, commentators or those in charge - current or historical - of the sport who have rejected the project: “A sport ceases to be a sport when the relationship between effort and success does not exist.

It is not a sport if success is already guaranteed in advance, and it doesn't matter if you win or lose, ”Guardiola said.

His colleagues Jürgen Klopp, from Liverpool, and especially Marcelo Bielsa, from Leeds, have already been against it.

At Leeds-Liverpool, the local players came out wearing a jersey that read: “Win ​​it on the pitch.

Soccer belongs to the fans ”.

Club statement.https: //t.co/GeNQZn8091

- Manchester City (@ManCity) April 20, 2021

Throughout this Tuesday, the clamor had also reached the British Government with force.

Boris Johnson has devoted the same impetus that he had in his day to defend Brexit to fight the European Super League project.

Two belligerent statements in less than 48 hours, and an emergency meeting on Tuesday with representatives of the English Football Association and the Premier League, together with their Minister of Culture and Sports, Oliver Dowden, symbolize their battle.

Several fan associations from at least three teams joined the meeting.

The conservative politician promised his interlocutors that he will not rule out using a "legislative bomb", if he deems it necessary, to prevent English teams from joining the new project.

"We have made it clear to them that no response measures are ruled out, and that the Government is exploring all possibilities, including new laws, to ensure that this project is stopped," said a Downing Street spokesman.

The pressures led to the withdrawal en bloc of the six Premier teams from the Superliga project.

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