‘It’s done, it’s finished… I hope Perez has got them on a £100m fine’: Gary Neville celebrates the demise of the European Super League and insists he hopes Big Six ‘eat themselves’ in the wake of breakaway failure
Gary Neville hopes Real Madrid and European Super League president Florentino Perez has a £100million fine waiting for the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ after they withdrew from the controversial project on Tuesday night, leaving the plans for a breakaway competition in ruins.
Just 48 hours after signing up to the universally hated Super League, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham were left licking their wounds after they all announced that they’d be enacting the withdrawal procedure from the £4.6bn scheme.
After facing fierce backlash from the world of football, the European Super League’s house of cards collapsed dramatically on Tuesday following player, pundit and fan protests from all over the continent.
Gary Neville hopes those involved in the Super League are slapped with £100million fines
And Neville, who has been one of the leading voices against the Super League, claims the project is now ‘finished’ and hopes the clubs involved ‘eat themselves’ while being slapped with hefty fines.
‘Quite incredible,’ Neville told Sky Sports while reacting to the news. ‘Large concern yesterday morning waking up thinking that, for me particularly as a United fan, that Joel Glazer had put his name on a statement which you think what he went through in the takeover of Manchester United, they withstood a barrage of abuse and they went through it and you thought, “it’s going to be difficult for them to back down”.
‘They haven’t backed down yet but the fact that [Manchester] City have enacted the withdrawal procedure and it looks like Chelsea are on the way, it’s done. It’s finished.
‘They will have their PR teams scrambling around to make this as lovely as possible in the next 24 hours, working out what the right time is to sort of, withdraw from it.
Neville wants Real Madrid and European Super League president Florentino Perez to fine the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ for withdrawing from the breakaway league as punishment
‘[Florentino] Perez might have them on a £100m fine and I hope he does. I hope Perez has got them on a massive fine to withdraw the lot of them and they basically end up eating each other.’
The news of the Super League quick demise was followed by the revelation that Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward had resigned from his role. United were one of the main drivers behind the Super League concept.
It’s understood that Woodward was planning to go at the end of the year – and will stay in his role until then – but the announcement has been brought forward. The club confirmed the news following the closing of the New York stock exchange on Tuesday night.
Carragher claimed the comments of Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, midfielder James Milner and Leeds striker Patrick Bamford after Monday night’s match, helped swing the balance.
‘I just think the reaction of everybody, Jurgen Klopp coming out last night, James Milner and Patrick Bamford.
‘Yesterday afternoon I was fearful. It was really serious, it felt like there was no fight, that the ship had sailed.
‘But after the game I felt re-energised and was confident this would be over after those players came out. That gave me a huge lift. I said as soon as one goes that’s the end of it, and it’s finished.
‘Klopp threw the owners under the bus, the captain (Jordan Henderson) has, Kenny Dalglish has. I don’t know what they are hanging on for. I don’t see a future for the ownership on the back of this.’
