Manchester City players’ negative response towards the European Super League was a huge reason behind the club’s withdrawal from the project, according to a report by The Athletic.
It was announced in the early hours that the Premier League ‘Bix Six’ had cut ties to the controversial competition, just days after announcing their involvement.
City and Chelsea were the first two to leave. Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Manchester United soon followed suit.
Fans’ reaction before and after the latest developments was one of pure anger. This was mainly directed towards the owners of each team that signed up for the project.
City concerns
Similar annoyance was apparently voiced by City’s players shortly after being told about their potential inclusion in the Super League.
According to The Athletic, Pep Guardiola’s players took part in a Zoom call to discuss matters with Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano.
City captain Fernandinho was seemingly the most critical, with Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker also voicing their opinions.
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Sterling and De Bruyne were also vocal on Twitter, with neither willing to hide their disagreement with the Super League project.
The feeling of indignation is said to have been unanimous across the squad.
Their concerns focused around possibly being banned from the Champions League or international tournaments.
Such a resounding vote of disapproval is believed to have been crucial in City’s decision to erase their name from the Super League list.
Guardiola – gold in sight
Hopefully with this section of the saga behind everyone, Guardiola and co can focus on what lies ahead in the footballing calendar.
A league visit to Aston Villa awaits them tonight (8.15pm).
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City then head to Wembley on Sunday for the League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur.
In a week’s time, City face Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
A triple title success is still on the cards for Pep. He can’t afford to be distracted by the events of the past few days.
