Europe’s Super League Plan Begins to Collapse

Chelsea and Manchester City and others are said to reverse course, imperiling a project that would have remade world soccer.

Plans for a European soccer superleague appeared on the brink of collapse on Tuesday, a spectacular implosion for a multibillion-dollar proposal that had prompted howls of outrage from nearly every corner of the sport since it was announced on Sunday. Chelsea, one of six English teams that had signed up as founding members of the new league, was preparing documentation to officially withdraw from the project, according to a person familiar with the club’s discussions. A spokesman for the club declined to comment. Manchester City, which leads the Premier League, was also close to pulling out of its agreement, according to people with knowledge of the situation. City’s about face came soon after its celebrated Spanish coach, Pep Guardiola, had slammed the plans for a closed competition, saying, “It is not a sport if it doesn’t matter if you lose.” A Manchester City spokeswoman, citing legal reasons, declined to comment on the club’s plans.