Which teams have pulled out of the European Super League? Why ESL plans are cancelled - and what happens next

On an extraordinary night for the proposed European Super League the six English teams who had signed up sensationally pulled out of the breakaway venture.

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Here we take a look at the latest state of play.

What was the European Super League proposal?

On Sunday night a group of 12 clubs – including the Premier League’s so-called ‘Big Six’ – announced they had signed up to a new Super League, which it was intended would feature 15 ‘founder members’ who were protected from relegation and five additional sides on an annual basis. The new competition would start “as soon as is practicable”, according to the press release confirming it.

It was intended to be played midweek and run alongside the domestic leagues.

Who is behind the European Super League?

The 12 founding members were English sides Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Spanish trio Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, plus Juventus AC Milan and Inter Milan from Italy.

In addition it was revealed that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who is believed to be the 'brainchild' of the format, would hold the chairman’s role.

Liverpool’s John W. Henry, Manchester United's Joel Glazer, Arsenal's Stan Kroenke, and Juventus' Andrea Agnelli would all take up positions as vice-chairmen of the league.

The American owners of Man United, Liverpool and Arsenal were believed to be drivers of this proposal. They wanted it to mirror the ‘franchise’ version of sport in the United States.

About $5billion has been committed to this new project by the American bank JP Morgan.

In their own announcement, the breakaways clubs state 'The Founding Clubs will receive an amount of €3.5 billion solely to support their infrastructure investment plans and to offset the impact of the COVID pandemic.'

Why was the ESL proposed?

For some of them, it stemmed from a disagreement between some of European football’s superpowers and UEFA over commercial control of the revamped Champions League, which is due to start under a new format from 2024. On Friday, the UEFA clubs competition committee – including a number of representatives from breakaway clubs – had given its blessing to UEFA’s proposals before a dramatic change of direction.