Manchester United’s stock market value plunged by around £150million as plans for a European Super League crumbled.
The Premier League side had seen the price of its shares sky-rocket by around the same value after the announcement of the new breakaway league.
But as rumours swirled about club bosses getting cold feet over the proposals, United’s share prices took a plunge.
Manchester City later became the first club to formally announce its intentions to withdraw, followed by United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham.
Chelsea, who played in the Premier League, were the last club to formally announce they would not be involved in the European Super League.
It came as long-term chief Ed Woodward announced he would be stepping down from his role as executive vice-chairman.
Both took place after the close of the New York Stock Exchange, on which United are listed.
However, ahead of those announcements, the club saw six per cent wiped off its share value yesterday.
Shares in United were worth around £11.60 ($16.17) on Friday, before the announcement of the £4.6billion plans for the breakaway league on Sunday.
The Premier League side had seen the price of its share price sky-rocket by around the same value after the announcement of the new breakaway league. But shares returned to last week’s levels today
It also came as long-term chief Ed Woodward announced he would be stepping down from his role as executive vice-chairman
The plans sparked a share price hike to £12.63 ($17.60) on Monday morning, with investors keen on a potential increase in revenue and a £250million welcome bonus to the European Super League’s founder clubs.
However share prices had returned to £11.64 ($16.22) this evening, amid talk that several big clubs could pull out of the new tournament following a backlash from fans.
Juventus – another founding member – saw their stock price rise by almost 19 per cent on the Milan stock exchange following the announcement.
But their share price also took a dive this evening, dropping four per cent amid the confusion.
It comes as plans for a breakaway European Super League were left in tatters tonight as clubs began to walk away from the hated competition after a ferocious fan backlash.
Manchester City were the first of English football’s so-called ‘Big Six’ teams to announce they had asked to withdraw.
Reports said Chelsea would follow suit along with European giants Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
And Tottenham, Liverpool, Arsenal and United
At Manchester United – who are not one of the sides rumoured to be getting cold feet – executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward announced he was resigning.
And Liverpool players issued identical statements saying: ‘We don’t like it and we don’t want it to happen.’
City, Chelsea, United, Arsenal, Atletico, Barcelona, Liverpool, Spurs, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid had sparked outrage among much of the footballing world when they a released joint statement on Sunday backing the £4.6billion proposals.
But, less than 72 hours after the announcement was made, the plans crumbled through this evening. Manchester City’s statement read: ‘Manchester City Football Club can confirm that it has formally enacted the procedures to withdraw from the group developing plans for a European Super League.’
Reports said a similar statement from Chelsea would follow on Wednesday.
News of the sudden change-of-heart came as hundreds of Chelsea fans tonight rallied against the club’s involvement in the breakaway plans in a rowdy protest outside Stamford Bridge.
Fans blocked the Chelsea team coach’s entry to the stadium, ahead of their Premier League clash against Brighton, sparking club legend and current technical director Petr Cech to get among supporters in a bid to appease them.
But it was only once news broke that the club could now withdraw from the tournament did fans relent – loudly cheering the decision and the club’s name.
Earlier, in a sign of uncertainty from within the City camp, boss Pep Guardiola criticised the plans, while United striker Marcus Rashford also took aim at the proposals, sharing the quote ‘football is nothing without fans’.
Chelsea are tonight reportedly preparing to pull out of the widely-slated European Super League after days of fury from across the footballing world
The news came as hundreds of Chelsea fans tonight protested against the club’s involvement in the £4.3billion breakaway plans, by chanting and holding banners outside Stamford Bridge
Fans blocked the Chelsea team coach’s entry to the stadium, ahead of their Premier League clash against Brighton, sparking legend and current technical director Petr Cech (pictured) to get amongst the fans in a bid to appease them
The crumbling resolve of the architects today came as Boris Johnson threatened to drop a ‘legislative bomb’ to stop it, telling the FA, Premier League, the PFA and fans and the Government will change the law to stop a small handful of billionaire owners creating a ‘closed shop’ destroying England’s 132-year-old football pyramid.
The new league has no relegation and founding clubs have agreed to play in it for the next 23 years – but rebels including Man City and Chelsea are already said to be ‘getting cold feet’ in the wake of vitriol from players and supporters.
Liverpool are also growing ‘increasingly doubtful’ about the project after the wave of fan anger and protests outside Anfield, according to Bild.
Adding fuel to the rumours of unrest, Pep Guardiola said: ‘Sport is not a sport when the relationship between effort and success, and reward, does not exist. It is not a sport if you can’t lose. It’s not fair if a team fights to get to the top and success is only guaranteed for some clubs’. He added: ‘I would love the [Super League] president of the committee to go out around the world and explain how we got this decision’.
MailOnline can also reveal Jordan Henderson has called an emergency meeting of the Premier League captains to discuss the breakaway European Super League amid unrest amongst players sucker-punched by the plans.
This afternoon Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford shared a picture of Old Trafford and a quote by legendary manager Sir Matt Busby: ‘Football is nothing without fans’, in a thinly-veiled criticism of the proposals spearheaded by the club’s owner Joel Glazer.
Wealthy west London side Chelsea (pictured left: Owner Roman Abramovich) are said to be preparing documentation to withdraw from the much-maligned new tournament, according to the BBC. Moments after the reports surfaced, it emerged that mega-rich Manchester City (pictured right: Owner Sheikh Mansour) could also pull out, dealing a huge double blow to the breakaway competition.
The Manchester club later confirmed its intention to withdraw in a short one-line statement, saying: ‘Manchester City Football Club can confirm that it has formally enacted the procedures to withdraw from the group developing plans for a European Super League’
Liverpool players meanwhile revolted in a joint social media campaign condemning the proposals. Players including captain Jordan Henderson and James Milner tonight shared an identical post with the words: ‘We don’t like it and we don’t want it to happen.’
Gary Neville said today he believes Manchester City ‘are the most likely to crack’ under the pressure and backlash against a European Super League before he also suggested Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, along with his senior players, ‘could turn’ owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and make them consider backing out.
But bookies say Klopp is now favourite to be the next Premier League boss to resign or be sacked after he was blindsided by the decision and then forced to face the cameras last night, where he told fans he would ‘try to sort it out’. His comments never made it on to the club’s website, leading to claims of censorship.
One unnamed UK chief executive told Sky: ‘This is not what we signed up for’ and alleging ringleaders Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid bullied them into it. Another source told Politico that Man United and Liverpool had ‘lied’ to get them to join and had ‘f***ed up’ ever since.
‘Big 6’ players, who have been threatened with a ban from this summer’s European Championships, are also said to be angry because they weren’t consulted with messages said to be flying on team WhatsApp groups about how they could sink the proposals.
It is understood that Boris Johnson told officials today that whilst he was a staunch free marketeer, he believed the breakaway competition was ‘anti-competitive’, that a ‘legislative bomb’ such as a new law should be dropped to stop it and that it ‘should be done now’.
And the Prime Minister tonight underlined his opposition to the proposed European Super League, saying that it was wrong that historic clubs were being turned into ‘international brands and commodities’.
The Prime Minister told a Downing Street news conference: ‘Be in no doubt that we don’t support it … the creation of this European Super League.
‘I think it’s not in the interests of fans, it’s not in the interests of football, how can it be right to have a situation in which you create a kind of cartel that stops clubs competing against each other, playing against each other properly, with all the hope and excitement that gives to the fans up and down the country?
‘Football was invented and codified in this county. It is one of the great glories of this country’s cultural heritage. These clubs, these names, originate from famous towns and cities in our country.
‘I don’t think that it is right that they should be somehow dislocated from their home towns, home cities.’
Mr Johnson reiterated that the Government stood ready to legislate if there was no other way to stop the plan.
He said: ‘That remains something that we will bring to the forefront if we have to.
‘What we want to do first of all is back the FA, back the Premier League, and hope that we can thwart this proposal before it goes very much further.’
