PLANS for the formation of a breakaway European football league by some of the continent’s richest clubs have been met with overwhelming condemnation and threats of legal action.

English football’s so-called big six — Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur — released a joint statement on Sunday night along with clubs on the Continent to confirm that they have founded the European Super League (ESL).

The statement said that the new competition will feature “20 participating clubs with 15 founding clubs and a qualifying mechanism for a further five teams to qualify annually based on achievements in the prior season.”