Super League can no longer go ahead, founder admits

The statement comes just hours after the English clubs withdrew from the tournament

Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, who was one of the leading figures behind the Super League proposals has admitted that the tournament can no longer go ahead. Asked whether the Super League could continue, Agnelli told Reuters, per the Independent: “To be frank and honest no, evidently that is not the case.” Only on Tuesday had Agnelli had an interview with an Italian paper in which he said that the tournament had a "100%" chance of success. Agnelli had told la Repubblica that "“There is a blood pact among our clubs, we will press ahead.” Agnelli had been named as the vice-chairman of the new breakaway Super League. He went on to say that the new proposals were not a "menace" to national competitions that already existed, and that the clubs involved has "full willingness" to continue to take part in these preexisting tournaments. However the news today caps a remarkable and humiliating U-turn for all the clubs involved, particularly Agnelli who had been one of the founding fathers behind the tournament, plotting behind UEFA's back for months to get the league off the ground. With the plans being announced to uproar and condemnation on Sunday evening, by Tuesday night all six of the English clubs involved had withdrawn their interest from the competition. Once this news had been confirmed, it was obvious that the Super League was going to crumble and collapse as quickly as it had been announced and launched. Without the big names from the Premier League, such a competition would never be a success. The question now for Agnelli is what his future in the game holds. His role at UEFA is now untenable, and rumours are swirling that he is set to step down from his role as president of Juventus.