London – All six Premier League teams involved in the European Super League have formally withdrawn from the competition.
Manchester City were the first club to pull out after Chelsea had signalled their intent to do so by preparing documentation to withdraw.
The other four sides – Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham – have all now followed suit.
The 12-team Super League was announced on Sunday to widespread condemnation.
Manchester City confirmed they have “formally enacted the procedures to withdraw” from the Super League.
Liverpool said their involvement in the proposed breakaway league “has been discontinued”.
Manchester United said they had “listened carefully to the reaction from our fans, the UK government and other key stakeholders” in making their decision to not take part.
Arsenal apologised in an open letter to their fans and said they had “made a mistake”, adding they were withdrawing after listening to them and the “wider football community”.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said the club regretted the “anxiety and upset” caused by the proposal.
Chelsea confirmed they have “begun the formal procedures for withdrawal from the group” that they only joined “late last week”.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin welcomed the reversal, adding: “They are back in the fold now and I know they have a lot to offer not just to our competitions but to the whole of the European game.
“The important thing now is that we move on, rebuild the unity that the game enjoyed before this and move forward together.”
English football’s ‘big six’ were part of a group, also containing Spain’s Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid and Italy’s AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus, that announced plans to form the breakaway league, which they hoped to establish as a new midweek competition.
It was condemned by fans, football authorities and government ministers in the UK and across Europe by Uefa and league associations.
Around 1 000 fans gathered outside Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge ground before their game against Brighton on Tuesday to protest at their club’s involvement. (BBC)
