THIS is the day the European Super League really kicked off, when five Premier League bigwigs booked a room in the Dorchester for a secret summit.
SunSport broke the story in March 2016 that a top American TV exec was planning a rival competition to the Champions League that would also undermine the Premier League.
And now it has come to this, with the only change that Tottenham have finally got their invite to the party after an original snub.
The faces are mainly familiar. Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, Manchester United’s Mister Big Ed Woodward, Arsenal chief exec Ivan Gazidis and Manchester City official Ferran Soriano.
Only Liverpool’s Ian Ayre has left that original cast, moving on to new pastures while his successors continue the plotting.
The TV guru behind it was known to them all. The backer was billionaire Stephen Ross, who had already made good money for himself and the clubs with trips and competitions.
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Those long-haul games in the International Champions Cup cluttered up the calendar but gave him a toehold and an idea. Why not have a European Super League?
Unfortunately for Ross and his team they did not own the exclusive rights to that concept and five years later someone has nicked the plan – and found the same old allies.
Ross and his Relevent Sports company still have the International Champions Cup and even at the start of the year he was trying to promote the European Super League version.
Ironically the ICC competition has not proved lucrative in its original form and he has threatened to pull the plug because it was losing money.
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Ross, 80, has managed to survive all the same. He is the main owner of Miami Dolphins and his net worth is estimated at £5.44billion.
Since the renegade plans for the franchise-style, closed-shop Super League emerged on Sunday, it has been subject to widespread outrage across the country.
Furious fans took to stadiums across England on Monday to voice their anger at the clubs’ owners with more protests planned. Liverpol fans also hung banners outside Anfield aimed at their ‘money-grabbing’ owners.
The clubs have been slammed by everyone from Prince William and PM Boris Johnson to Gary Neville and David Beckham.
Johnson today threatened new laws over the European Super League plot – and backed Prem bosses to kick out the ‘Big Six’ if they want to.
The PM vowed not to stand by ‘while a small handful of owners create a closed shop’ and promised to back fans all the way.
Downing Street said today the PM ‘expressed his solidarity with football fans and agreed they must always be at the heart of any decisions about the future of the game’.
They added: “He reiterated his unwavering support for the football authorities and confirmed they have the government’s full backing to take whatever action necessary to put a stop to these plans.”
The PM urged clubs who were reported to be wobbling to pull back from the brink.
The group agreed that any club should always have the chance to play and win against the biggest football players in the game.
And the PM stuck to his guns over possible new laws to stop the group going ahead with their plot.
No10 said: “The Prime Minister confirmed the government will not stand by while a small handful of owners create a closed shop.
“He was clear that no action is off the table and the government is exploring every possibility, including legislative options, to ensure these proposals are stopped.”
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