The world of European soccer/football was shaken to its core, and sparked fans from around the world to join in and boycott, as the unveiling of a new breakaway league was introduced, that would end up fizzling out before it even started.

On Sunday, April 11, 2021, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez came out with the announcement that would change the way the game would be played forever. A brand new breakaway league, known as “The Super League.” The league would start as soon as possible and would feature some of the best clubs in the world as it’s founding members. 

Immediately after this announcement was released, the 12 founding clubs were revealed. Clubs such as Liverpool FC, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and FC Barcelona were among the names mentioned in the 12. Along with this, a reported five extra clubs were to be named in the future, once they were signed on.

As the teams were added and announced, the news also broke that JP Morgan & Chase would be the main source of funding and income for the league, as they would be giving the league $5.4 billion for clubs to prepare for the league’s inauguration.

Hours after the news broke, fans from all six English clubs began protesting outside of their teams stadiums. Old Trafford, Anfield, and the Emirates Stadium were full of angry fans and banners scrutinizing the clubs for the move they had just made. Fans, players, coaches, and everyone involved with the sport were appalled by what they were reading.

Not long after the protests, players and coaches had a chance to speak out. During one of his morning press conferences, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola stated, “It is not a sport if success is guaranteed.” Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes also weighed in on the topic, writing, “Dreams can’t be [bought],” on his social media in relation to another player’s stance. Manchester United legend Gary Neville went on a rant about the news. Speaking with Sky Sports, he stated, “It is an absolute disgrace. Honestly, we have to wrestle back power in this country from the clubs at the top of [the Premier League], and that includes my club. I’ve been calling for 12 months, as part of another group, for an independent regulator to bring checks and balances in place to stop this happening. It is pure greed.”

Once the Fédération Internationale de Football Association [FIFA] and the Union of European Football Associations [UEFA] realized what was going on, and what could happen, they stepped in urgently. Their first action was to alert any other huge clubs, such as Paris SG, FC Bayern, and Borussia Dortmund, not to participate. 

They also put down harsh punishments for the clubs that were involved. This included the permanent ban from domestic and international competitions, as well as European competitions such as the Champions League and the Europa League. They also included the potential ban of their players from competing with their respective national teams, including in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

On Tuesday, April 20, after consideration of the bans to be put into place, and the enormous outrage from fans, Chelsea FC and Atletico Madrid were the first two teams to fold from the league. Not long after, it was reported that all six English clubs had folded from the league as well, effectively ending the Super League only 48 hours after it’s introduction.

However, Florentino Perez does not think it is quite over yet. In a recent statement, Perez said that the league was on “standby” and that the participating clubs had signed a binding contract keeping them from folding from it.

For now, the beautiful game is safe and staying the way fans know and love it, but for how long will it remain?