Plans for a European Super League (ESL) collapsed on Tuesday as Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham joined Manchester City in withdrawing from controversial proposals that provoked a furious backlash.
Chelsea are reportedly set to follow leaving just six sides: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus still involved in the project.
The ESL was designed by the European giants to guarantee revenue from more regular matches against one another without the risk of failing to qualify for 15 founder members.
A 3.5 billion euro ($4.2 billion) pot, financed by US investment bank JPMorgan, had been raised to be distributed among the founding members to offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.