England’s “big six” clubs have succeeded in fighting off a new owners’ charter with the project now mothballed after the Premier League failed to secure universal approval for the proposal.
The charter was conceived in response to the short-lived European Super League breakaway last April, which the six clubs joined, but the six clubs — Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and the two Manchester clubs — have refused to sign it because it would commit them to only qualifying for the Champions League via “current sporting merit”.
The six clubs did not want to cut off their options if Uefa goes through with a move to allow two clubs each season to qualify via their European ranking, or coefficient, based on recent performances in European