38 of the funniest memes about the widely criticised European Super League

Proposals for a controversial new European football league were announced on Sunday evening, which if implemented, could fundamentally change the course of the sport forever.

Six English clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham), three Spanish teams (Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid) and three Italian sides (AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus) have all announced their intentions to play in the mid-week competition which the organisers hope to start in August.

There are reported plans for 20 teams to be involved in the league with 15 founding members. The five remaining teams would be welcomed to qualify for the league based on their achievements in their respective domestic campaigns.

Other top sides from around Europe, including Bayern Munich and Paris Saint Germain, are yet to confirm whether they will be participating. Top officials from Real Madrid, Man United and Juventus are acting as chairmen for the scheme which will also have a women’s alternative.

There were initially fears that the breakaway league would mean the teams would no longer compete in their own respective leagues but that is not said to be on the agenda. However, many footballing bodies around Europe including the Premier League have released a strongly-worded statement condemning the move and suggesting that players involved will be banned from competing in international tournaments.

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Fans and pundits have also spoken out against the competition perhaps most passionately summed up by former Man United and England defender Gary Neville who struggled to contain his fury when asked about the proposals on Sky Sports and called for the clubs involved to be punished.

Much of the reaction of social media was similar to this too and as always with major stories of this nature, fans couldn’t help mocking the potential plight of ‘the beautiful game’ especially as some teams involved aren’t exactly at the top of their own leagues.

What does this mean for the Champions League, the current elite competition in Europe which is based purely on performances in domestic leagues?

Boris Johnson has made a stand.

Even the Beano is speaking out.

Many weren’t impressed with the branding either.

Kudos to whoever got to The Super League Twitter handle before the actual league themselves. Tense scenes as we wait for their first tweet.

Not even Jose Mourinho, losing his job as Tottenham manager could overshadow the controversy.

Some have compared the overwhelming uproar to the rather meek response to the persistent problem of racism in the game.

Other clubs, not involved in the Super League took this opportunity to mock the proposals or try and recruit new fans.

Current players like Bruno Fernandes, Mesut Ozil, Ander Herrera and legends like Luis Figo, Alan Shearer, David Beckham and Ian Wright have condemned the move.

Similar proposals have been made before about breakaway leagues that have failed to come to fruition so it remains to be seen whether this will actually happen or will soon be forgotten about like tears in a post-match bath.

Update: As of Wednesday morning eight of the 12 teams involved in the plans have dropped out of the league following the backlash and yes, there are lots of memes celebrating the inevitable collapse of The Super League.