Premier League leaders, Manchester City have reportedly backed out of the freshly designed European Super League. The Monetary League had faced backlash from football fans around the world and this move by the Pep Guardiola managed side helps them to get the monkey off their back. Chelsea has also followed the footsteps of their Manchester counterpart and has resigned from being a part of the league.
The announcement of the European Super League and the involvement of as many as 12 major clubs of Europe had left football fanboys all over the world, ferocious and dejected. But the world joined hands to protect the game.
Numerous pundits deemed the league to be cold-war on football. John Terry the ex-captain of Chelsea Football Club posted a picture on Instagram to demonstrate his exasperations over the league. The veteran defender wrote, “What has happened to our beautiful game?”
(🌕) JUST IN: Joan Laporta will not finalize Barcelona’s entry into the Super League until they have received the approval from socios. Without their ‘OK’, the Catalan Club won’t take part in the competition. @xavitorresll #ESL 🔵🔴🚨
— Reshad Rahman ✆ (@ReshadRahman_) April 20, 2021
The ‘Ultimate Betrayal’ that the fans had received left them fuming and protesting outside the battlegrounds of each of the 12 clubs.
But what was noticeable was that these fuming fans came together to fight the Money-oriented League. It was their efforts that pushed City and the Blues to leave the tournament.
THE POWER LIES IN THE HANDS OF THE FANS
I believe very few fans would have had a proper night’s sleep since the league’s announcement on Sunday. Stamford Bridge, the home ground of the Blues, witnessed thousands of fans raising objections before their clash against Brighton. Though the Premier League clubs haven’t allowed fans inside the stadium this revolting public was not here to back down. They wanted Roman Abramovich to handle the stumbling block the club was facing as soon as possible. And at the end, their demands were met when The Blues ditched their European Super League seat.
Quotes:
❌Arsenal: “We didn’t make the right decision, which we fully accept.”
❌Man Utd: “We have listened carefully to reaction from fans, UK Gov & key stakeholders.”
❌Chelsea: “Participation in #ESL plans would not be in best interests of the club.”
— Louise Taffa (@Louise_Taffa) April 21, 2021
Chelsea was not the only club that received the wrath of their fans. Liverpool fans held black posters outside Anfield which consisted of slogans like “Shame on You Liverpool”, R.I.P Liverpool, 1892-2021” and “LFC Fans against European Super League.” The Gunners fans held hoardings stating they wanted their old Arsenal back. There were also protestors lined up outside the Etihad Stadium as the table-toppers had left their fans in despair.
The #ESL is crumbling after all six premier league clubs that were involved withdrew from the competition. The football community as a whole has shown that regardless of billionaire owners, the fans are what football is all about!
— Jack Long (@long_jack0304) April 21, 2021
But again, the power these fans possess made all the clubs fall like dominos. Pep Guardiola earlier today had spoken against the ESL stating “It is not a sport if success is guaranteed or if it doesn’t matter when you lose. I have said many times I want a successful Premier League, not just one team at the top.” And the indignation of the City fans made the senior management at the club withdraw their spot.
🚨| Reminder of the new #UCL format. pic.twitter.com/ri8qiPuCB1
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) April 20, 2021
The other side of Manchester also seemed to be on the same page with their counterparts. Multiple reports coming from the UK had suggested that their vice-chairperson, Ed Woodward, has resigned from his post. Though it has nothing to do with the inauguration of the Super League it just hints that how much huge and massive a club is it still needs its fans to function in the right order.
‘BANTER BY THE MID-TABLE CLUBS’
Just before kick-off at Elland Road yesterday a saxophone player could be seen playing the song, Money, Money, and Money as the Liverpool players entered the stadium to face The Peacocks. Marco Bielsa’s side even donned t-shirts that read, “Football is for the fans.’’ Leeds managed to salvage a point against the Reds at the end of 90 minutes and their official Twitter account stated “FULL TIME: #LUFC hold Super League Mersey Reds” as they took a dig against their counterparts.
https://twitter.com/David_Ornstein/status/1384630159349850115
Other ‘mid-table clubs soon decided to join the banter. Wolves for instance took the liberty of declaring themselves the 2018-19 champions of England. If the so-called Big-6 were ignored then Wolves would have topped the league bringing the trophy to the Molineux Stadium.
Real Betis, who currently sit on 6th place in La Liga, removed Barcelona and the two Madrid Clubs from their official league table moving Betis to third position.
https://twitter.com/richardhgriff/status/1384669312036872192
FC Spartak Moscow tweeted “Dear AC Milan, Arsenal, Atlético, Chelsea, Barcelona, Internazionale, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Tottenham fans, if you need a new club to support, we’re always here for you.” as they knew that the announcement had left the world fuming.
THE PLAYERS JOIN THE BATTLE
Former Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera was one of the first players who were vocal against the inauguration of this money-minded league. “I fell in love with popular football, with the football of the fans, with the dream of seeing the team of my heart compete against the greatest,”
We Won🙌🏼🤝🏼😭⚽️😭
Super League is no more
Florentino Papa Perez in the mud#football #BoycottEuropeanSuperLeague #SuperLeagueOut #ESL pic.twitter.com/ytrT5UxPb4— Desi Mister Xavi➐ (@DesiHonestCule) April 20, 2021
Bruno Fernandes soon joined the battle when he posted on his Instagram that “Dreams can’t be brought.” The Manchester United maestro is one of the players who features for The Red Devils day in and day out. But he didn’t take long to thrash the dreams of the people trying to form a worthless league.
https://twitter.com/PeterVthatsme/status/1384670703039901706
The legends of the game like Mesut Ozil, Xabi Alonso, Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville all came forward and made their voices heard.
The darkest of nights are always followed by the brightest sunlight. And all fans had believed that there will be light at the end of the tunnel for them. For the last 48 hours, every football fan had fought for the survival of their club, they didn’t want capitalism to win the battle, they wanted to preserve the game and their efforts have reaped great results.
And in FC Spartak Moscow’s words “European Super League – 19/04/21-20/04/21 – You will not be missed.”
