LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - Chelsea are set to pull out of the breakaway European Super League in a major blow to the plans for a new competition to rival the Champions League, the BBC reported on Tuesday. The BBC said they "understand that Chelsea are preparing documentation to request withdrawing from the European Super League."
The London club were one of six Premier League teams who signed up as founder members of the 12-team Super League on Sunday.
There has been huge opposition to the plans in English football and fans celebrated in the streets around Stamford Bridge as the news was reported before the team's Premier League home game with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Chelsea and the Super League company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Should Chelsea withdraw it would be a major blow to the plans for a breakaway competition set up to rival European soccer body UEFA's Champions League.
The Super League organisers, headed by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, had said they hoped to add three more founding members before launching their competition "as soon as practicable".
The Super League argues it would increase revenues to the top clubs and allow them to distribute more money to the rest of the game. However, the sport’s governing bodies, other teams and fan organisations say it will increase the power and wealth of the elite clubs and the closed structure of the league goes against European football's long-standing model.
Unlike Europe’s current elite Champions League competition, where teams have to qualify through their domestic league, the founding Super League teams would guarantee themselves a place in the new competition every year.
UEFA has warned it may impose sanctions against clubs and players who take part in the breakaway competition while UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government have been quick to condemn the notion of the Super League.
(Reporting by Simon Evans, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Toby Davis)
