Here is the story of an extraordinary 24 hours in the world of football – hours which will have major ramifications for the game long into the future.

Last night, 12 of the wealthiest clubs in Europe announced they had founded a new Super League which would see them shun Uefa’s Champions League for their own competition. The Super League would reward founding members with protected rights to play in the competition every year, concentrating the sport’s power and money to a select few and undermining the notion of fair and open competition.

The plans were immediately condemned by all sides. Gary Neville captured the mood in an impassioned speech on Sky Sports earlier on Sunday, describing the Super League as “scandalous” and a “criminal act”, and his views were echoed by many others in the game.

Players were quiet on the topic, but some spoke up.

While Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel elected to not criticise the plans earlier on Monday, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reiterated his opposition to the Super League ahead of his side’s match against Leeds United.

Uefa has reacted furiously. President Aleksander Ceferin read a long statement on Monday before tearing into the key actors behind the project, and threatening to ban clubs and players from Uefa competition and major international tournaments. The rift between Uefa and the Super League clubs would “never” heal, he said. There are also claims from a senior Uefa member that Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid could be kicked out of the Champions League semi-finals.

Uefa also announced its new Champions League format, beefing up the competition to include more teams and more matches in what was meant to be a compromise to suit all sides. The plans were controversial in themselves and had been criticised for leaning too favourably towards the wealthiest clubs, but evidently it did not go far enough in securing the financial aims of the Super League dozen.

So what next? The Premier League has called an emergency meeting tomorrow between the ‘other 14’ clubs. What is likely to follow now is fraught and protracted legal wrangling between all sides – the breakaway 12, domestic leagues, national associations, Uefa, Fifa, players, broadcasters – while the lifeblood of the game for more than a century, the supporters, watch on.

Leeds United’s players wore t-shirts in protest of plans for a new European Super League ahead of their match against Liverpool.

Liverpool are one of six English clubs confirmed as participants in the breakaway competiton.

The t-shirts displayed the message, “Earn it”- referencing the ‘closed shop’ nature of the planned competition and the guaranteed entry for at least 15 of its founding clubs.

Six Premier League clubs are due to take part, along with three from La Liga in Spain and three from Italy’s Serie A. Other sides are expected to join, but the German champions will not be one of them, former Bayern and West Germany international Rummenigge has said.

Manchester United, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are the English clubs due to be involved, while Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona join them from Spain, alongside Italian teams Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan.

The Red Devils were confirmed as one of the 12 founding members of this rival competition to the Champions League on Sunday evening.

And a furious Neville reiterated his desire to fight against the move, while condemning the owners of his former club.

“I thought it was a criminal act,” Neville told Sky Sports. “I was half hoping they would, off the backlash, they would rethink it. I saw the statement and it had Joel Glazer’s statement to it, and I thought, ‘this is a problem’.

“He’s intelligent, he knows what he wants. I thought this is serious. He’s not backing down. He’ll try force this through. They’ve been through hell at Manchester United. They don’t care. When I saw his name I was really worried.

Jurgen Klopp has said his opposition to a European Super League “hasn’t changed” after plans for a new breakaway competiton, which would include Liverpool, were confirmed on Sunday.

“For me, the Champions League is the Super League, in which you do not always end up playing against the same teams.”

Plans for the competition have been condemned by the UK Government, the Premier League and Uefa, and have received a fierce backlash from supporters.

Speaking ahead of Liverpool’s match against Leeds United, Klopp said: “I’ve got the same opinion about the Super League.

“It’s a tough one, people aren’t happy, I understand that. Me and the players aren’t involved in the process.

“I have no issues with the Champions League. I like the fact West Ham may play Champions League next year. I like that they have that chance.”

Klopp was also asked about the reception Liverpool received when they arrived at Elland Road, as well as a t-shirt demonstration from the Leeds United players.

He added: “The most important part of football are the supporters and the team. We have to make sure nothing gets between that.

“I’ve heard there are banners but the players didn’t do anything wrong. We have to all stick together. We can show nobody has to walk alone in these moments.

“There are things to sort but nothing to do with the football or the relationship between the supporters and the team.

“In tough times you have to show you stick together. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything but again the boys did nothing wrong. I want to make sure everyone knows that.”

More from Klopp:

Liverpool’s team bus was booed by protesting fans as it arrived at Elland Road ahead of the club’s Premier League fixture against Leeds tonight.

The match is the first to be played since plans for a new Super League were confirmed late on Sunday.

Supporters of both Liverpool and Leeds United voiced their opposition to the competition as the bus arrived at the ground, while similar protests have taken place outside Manchester United and Arsenal’s stadiums, as well as Anfield, today.

Meanwhile, inside Elland Road, Leeds United have also made their message clear.

The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, has added his voice to the condemnation of the European Super League, and has said he “shares the concerns of fans” about the breakaway tournament.

Prince William is also the the president of the Football Association.

He said: “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.”

Uefa’s executive committee will discuss expelling Arsenal and Manchester United from the Europa League semi-finals on Friday.

That meeting will also include a discussion on the Europa League, according to The Telegraph, with Super League clubs Arsenal and Manchester United involved in the last four of the competition.

United have been drawn against Roma while Arsenal are set to play Villareal, with the semi-finals scheduled to take place over two legs on 29 April and 6 May.

Aleksander Ceferin’s words have already struck a chord with Premier League players at “the breakaway six”.

The Independent has been told that a number are “deeply concerned” about the possibility of being denied the chance to play at a World Cup. It has been the subject of many a Whatsapp debate.

It also reflects how, amid all of Ceferin’s extraordinary barbs, he also drew the first weapon in what many football figures are describing as “the game’s nuclear war”.

That is the announcement that any player who participates in ‘The Super League’ will be banned from playing for their national side. It the first tangible effect of this deep fissure in the game.

It gives players an immensely difficult decision, that is almost unfair on them. To go right to the top, are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi really going to forsake another chance at a World Cup for club football?

The agonising over this only begins to hint at the ructions to come, and the many legal challenges that are now starting. It is going to be, in the words of repeated sources, a “mess”. Maybe for years.

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