Media reports on Sunday said that 12 European clubs, including six from England, have signed up to a breakaway Super League -- a rival competition to UEFA's Champions League.
Following are some reactions to the news:
Super League
"The pandemic has shown that a strategic vision and a sustainable commercial approach are required to enhance value and support for the benefit of the entire European football pyramid."
FIFA
"FIFA always stands for unity in world football and calls on all parties involved in heated discussions to engage in calm, constructive and balanced dialogue for the good of the game and in the spirit of solidarity and fair play.
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"We will, of course, do whatever is necessary to contribute to a harmonised way forward in the overall interests of football."
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin
"UEFA and the football world stand united against disgraceful and self-serving proposal we have seen in the last 24 hours for a select few clubs in Europe motivated by greed. We are all united against this nonsense of a project."
UEFA in a joint statement with Spanish, English and Italian leagues and federations
"UEFA, the English FA, RFEF, FIGC, the Premier League, La Liga, Lega Serie A, but also FIFA and all our member associations – will remain united in our efforts to stop this cynical project, a project that is founded on the self-interest of a few clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever.
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"We will consider all measures available to us, at all levels, both judicial and sporting in order to prevent this happening."
England's Football Association
"It is clear that this would be damaging to English and European football at all levels and will attack the principles of open competition and sporting merit which are fundamental to competitive sport."
English Premier League
"Fans of any club in England and across Europe can currently dream that their team may climb to the top and play against the best. We believe that the concept of a European Super League would destroy this dream."
Global footballers' union FIFPRO
"Players continue to be used as assets and leverage in these negotiations. This is unacceptable for FIFPRO, our 64 national player associations and the 60,000 players we represent.
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"We will vigorously oppose measures by either side that would impede the rights of players, such as exclusion from their national teams."
English Football League
"A strong pyramid based on promotion, relegation and ultimately European qualification, is fundamental to our game's continued success.
"The EFL opposes any reform that doesn't support competition integrity or offer clubs the prospect of one day competing at the highest end of the game."
German Football Association (DFB)
"The German Football Association (DFB) is against the concept of a European Super League. It is the performance that determines promotion and relegation. Economic interests of a few clubs should not end the practiced solidarity in football."
Spain's La Liga
"The newly proposed top European competition is nothing more than a selfish, egotistical proposal designed to further enrich the already super rich.
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"It will undermine the appeal of the whole game and have a deeply damaging impact on the immediate and future of LaLiga, its member clubs, and all the entire footballing ecosystem."
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson
"Plans for a European Super League would be very damaging for football. They would strike at the heart of the domestic game, and will concern fans across the country. The clubs involved must answer to their fans."
French President Emmanuel Macron
"The president of the Republic welcomes the position of French clubs to refuse to participate to a European football Super League project that threatens the principle of solidarity and sporting merit."
Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC)
"We have been always against a Super League. The only viable project is the Champions League reform promoted by UEFA."
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans Joachim Watzke
"The board members of the European Club Association (ECA) came together for a virtual meeting on Sunday evening, where it was agreed that the board's decision from last Friday still stands.
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"This decision dictates that all clubs wish to implement the proposed reforms to the UEFA Champions League. The ECA board members took a clear stance in rejecting plans for the establishment of a Super League."
Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow
"Does that sound like sport or football to you? To me it sounds a grotesque concept."
Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
"I do not believe the Super League will solve the financial problems of European clubs that have arisen as result of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Rather, all clubs in Europe should work in solidarity to ensure that the cost structure, especially players' salaries and agents' fees, are brought in line with revenues, to make all of European football more rational."
Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust
"Along with fan groups at Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, we wholeheartedly oppose the move to create a closed shop for Europe’s elite."
The Arsenal Supporters' Trust
"The death of Arsenal as a sporting institution."
Liverpool Supporters Group SPION KOP 1906
"We, along with other groups involved in flags, will be removing our flags from The Kop. We feel we can no longer give our support to a club which puts financial greed above integrity of the game."
Prince William, President of the English Football Association
"Now, more than ever, we must protect the entire football community – from the top level to the grassroots – and the values of competition and fairness at its core."
"I share the concerns of fans about the proposed Super League and the damage it risks causing to the game we love."
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