Andrea Agnelli admits Super League can no longer go ahead

Juventus owner and Super League vice chairman Andrea Agnelli has admitted that the competition 'can no longer progress' with its attempts of a breakaway, following the withdrawal of the six Premier League clubs.

Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur made up half of the 12 founding Super League members, but they have all since reversed their decision amid huge protests in the United Kingdom.

Their backtracking immediately cash doubt over the future of the Super League, and Agnelli - one of the lead protagonists - has admitted to Reuters that the tournament can 'no longer progress' without the half-dozen English sides.

Juventus are yet to make any further comment since announcing their participation on Sunday night, while all six Premier League clubs have released statements withdrawing from the competition - Arsenal even going as far as to apologise to their supporters for making "a mistake".

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who was also heading up the Super League, is desperately fighting to keep the competition alive, but Juve owner Agnelli now seems resigned to the fact that the concept is dead in the water.

Agnelli has long pushed for a revamp to the Champions League, believing that the elite teams should be guaranteed a place in the competition every year. The Super League would have seen Juve named as one of the 12 founding members, meaning they would not need to qualify and would be guaranteed automatic entry.

Juventus' owner has previously hit out at the inclusion of Atalanta - who beat Juve on Sunday - in last year's Champions League, believing that 'one great season' should not earn them a spot in the European competition.

“I have great respect for everything that Atalanta are doing, but without international history and thanks to just one great season, they had direct access into the primary European club competition. Is that right or not?" Agnelli said at the FT Business of Football Summit in London in March 2020.

“Then I think of Roma, who contributed in recent years to maintaining Italy’s ranking. They had one bad season and are out, with all the consequent damage to them financially."

This elitist and semi-private league caused mass protests in England, and the fans' ire caused a swift U-turn. The remaining Super League clubs have been more stubborn in delaying any departure, though AC Milan have officially followed suit and Inter are expected to join them.