European Super League one year on — How Man City fans reclaimed their club in 46 hours

At 11.20pm on a Sunday in April exactly one year ago, football changed.

An identical statement was posted on the websites of Manchester City and 11 other European giants. Seemingly out of nowhere, they were withdrawing from the Champions League and setting up a $3.5billion breakaway competition as founding members. It would guarantee more money for those clubs, and remove the fear of failing to qualify for the world’s most prestigious games the following season.

It was, rather unimaginatively, called the European Super League, and when City pressed publish on that statement they cannot have anticipated the backlash that followed. The fact there was the same statement published by each club, with comment from Manchester United co-chairman Joel Glazer but nobody connected with City, only grated with fans more.

ALSO READ: The inside story of why Man City signed up to the European Super League

How it happened

In less than 48 hours, City would withdraw from the lucrative new venture and have their reputation among their own fanbase and among world football severely affected. It’s not an exaggeration to say this was a catastrophic miscalculation that risked undoing years of work to prove City belonged among the world’s best.

Their own manager and players had denounced the idea, and for the first time since the 2008 takeover, fans had overwhelmingly expressed their dissatisfaction against their owners. City had no choice but to walk away.

City may have been one of the last clubs to sign up, persuaded by Juventus as the plans gained momentum behind the scenes. For a club with a strong track record of sound, calculated judgement in growing their business on and off the pitch, it’s hard to see how they misjudged the mood of