Ed Woodward has reportedly resigned from his role as Manchester United executive vice chairman following the European Super League fiasco.
It has been the story that has absolutely dominated the headlines since the news broke on Sunday, 12 of Europe’s self-proclaimed elite clubs announced their intention to break away to form a new Super League, a closed competition that looked set to damage the very fabric of the game.
The proposals have united virtually everybody both in and out of the sport, including fans, pundits and even politicians from all views, with a number of protests having taken place outside a number of stadiums.
Six Premier League clubs – Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs – were among the 12 European sides to initially sign up, but reports on Tuesday suggested that two of those clubs were already getting cold feet among the widespread backlash.
Earlier this evening, reports emerged that Chelsea were set the first side set to pull out, with reports swiftly following that Man City were set to follow suit.
Following the reports, it has been a whirlwind hour, with news suggesting that the whole concept is dead and buried and set to be scrapped before it has even got off the ground, in what must be one of the most embarrassing climb-downs in living memory – Real Madrid president Florentino Perez only talking up the competition less that 24 hours ago.
Now, as the fallout continues, the first major casualty appears to be Manchester United‘s much-maligned executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, with multiple sources saying the former investment banker has resigned from his role.
It is claimed that he was always planning on stepping down at the end of the season, though such suggestions seem mightily convenient given the backlash to events of the last 48 hours.
It was reported that a number of Man Utd players had an ‘angry’ meeting with Woodward, while Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw have taken to social media to express their opinions on the Super League proposals.
Woodward has never been a popular figure among the Man Utd faithful, his home being set upon by angry supporters in January 2020 amid a downturn of fortunes on the pitch and a lack of transfer activity.
Read – The European Super League and the Future of Football
See also – Five hugely entertaining PL sides who won f*ck all
