European Super League: Who's saying what
AFP's pick of the quotes after Tuesday's dramatic unravelling of the proposed breakaway European Super League after a furious backlash:
"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"
-- Man City were the first of the six Premier League clubs to pull the plug on the ill-fated project
"As a result of listening to you and the wider football community over recent days we are withdrawing from the proposed Super League. We made a mistake, and we apologise for it."
-- Arsenal in an apologetic mood
"Manchester United will not be participating in the European Super League. We have listened carefully to the reaction from our fans, the UK government and other key stakeholders."
-- 20 time English champions announce United their withdrawal
"It's not a sport when the relation between effort and reward doesn't exist."
"It's not a sport when success is already guaranteed, it's not a sport if it doesn't matter if you lose."
-- Man City manager Pep Guardiola
"Over the moon"
"Greed has not prospered. We are here, we're the people, multiple fans, standing against disgusting greed and we've triumphed."
-- Tom Cunningham, Chelsea fan
"It is our task to protect the European sport model, so if some elect to go their own way then they must live with the consequences of their choices. They are responsible for their choices."
-- FIFA president Gianni Infantino
"The clubs concerned will be banned from playing in any other competition at domestic, European or world level, and their players could be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams."
-- UEFA threatened to ban teams from other European competitions
"Gentlemen, you made a huge mistake,"
-- UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin tells the breakaway clubs
"There's still time to change your mind. Everyone makes mistakes... Come to your senses. Not out of love for football because I imagine some of you don't have much of that."
-- Ceferin implores owners to ditch the plans
"We have to think about why 16-24 year-olds are no longer interested in football. There are poor quality matches and there are other platforms for entertainment. Football has to change."
-- Real Madrid president and new Super League president Florentino Perez
"I feel responsible for the team, for the club and for the relationship we have with our fans. It's a very tough time I'm sure, but I will try to help to sort it somehow."
-- Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
"We are confident that this new 20-team competition will capture the imaginations of billions of football fans around the world and mark the start of an exciting new chapter in the game of football."
-- AC Milan CEO Ivan Gazidis
"We have come together at this critical moment, enabling European competition to be transformed, putting the game we love on a sustainable footing for the long-term future, substantially increasing solidarity, and giving fans and amateur players a regular flow of headline fixtures that will feed their passion for the game while providing them with engaging role models."
-- Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli
"On behalf of the board, I would like to make it explicitly clear that FC Bayern will not be taking part in the Super League."
-- Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
"Paris Saint-Germain holds the firm belief that football is a game for everyone. I have been consistent on this since the very beginning. As a football club, we are a family and a community; whose fabric is our fans -- I believe we shouldn't forget this."
-- Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi
"The prime minister confirmed the government will not stand by while a small handful of owners create a closed shop."
-- Downing Street statement on British PM Boris Johnson's stance after meeting Premier League clubs
"Ok bye"
-- Manchester City player Raheem Sterling
"Dreams can't be buy (bought)."
-- Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes
"This preposterous arrogance is not wanted anywhere in football outside of the clubs that have drafted this plan."
-- Premier League club Everton
"RIP Football 1863 - 2021"
-- A fan's banner at protests outside Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium