Manchester United withdraw from The Super League

In a spectacular u-turn, Manchester United announced on Tuesday night that they have withdrawn from the Super League. News of the new, proposed breakaway club competition only emerged on Sunday, and United never officially acknowledged their participation on their social media channels, despite the launch of the new group being accompanied by quotes from club owner Joel Glazer. After extraordinary backlash from fans, other clubs, media partners, sponsors, and players, the Super League began unraveling in extraordinary fashion over the last 24 hours.

Manchester City were the first English club to officially withdraw, with strong rumors of Chelsea following suit not long after. With Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain — the two most notable absentees among the 12 founding members of the apparently-short-lived Super League — declining to participate on Tuesday, a race was developing among the remaining rats aboard this sinking ship.

Only hours earlier, United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward announced his resignation at the end of 2021 — an announcement that was clearly brought forward by the Super League fiasco. With the writing now on the wall, United joined Arsenal, Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur in pulling out.