The European Super League was 'dead in the water' 10 minutes after it was announced, one of its architects says

• The European Super League was already dead 10 minutes after it was announced.
• That's according to an executive involved in its creation who spoke to the New York Times.
• 12 European soccer clubs announced a breakaway league on Sunday night. By Tuesday, it had collapsed.

The European Super League project was effectively dead just 10 minutes after it was publicly announced last Sunday night, an executive from one of the breakaway clubs has said.

Speaking to the New York Times, the unnamed executive said that the Super League was so hastily put together and announced that the project was no longer viable as soon as public opposition became apparent.

"It was dead in the water by 11:10," the executive told the New York Times of the plan, which was announced at 11 p.m. UK time on Sunday.

"Everyone had climbed their hill and would not be able to come down."

Last Sunday, 12 of Europe's biggest soccer teams - AC Milan, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Tottenham - announced they had agreed to join a breakaway competition dubbed The Super League.

While plans for a tournament along the lines of the European Super League have been floated for many years, the plan announced on Sunday night was hastily and shambolically put together, the executive who spoke to the Times said.

That lack of planning was crucial in the league's demise, as several of the teams involved were not fully committed to its creation.

Two of the English clubs involved, Chelsea and Manchester City, were given less than 48 hours to decide if they wanted to join the ESL, the Times reports.

Times writers Tariq Panja and Rory Smith write that the pair "only learned on Friday that the plan was in motion."

"They had been told that they had no more than a day or so to decide whether they were in or out. Either way, they were warned, the train was leaving the station."

The executive involved in planning who spoke to the Times noted that he warned fellow architects of the ESL that they should wait until at least the summer to announce its formation, allowing for longer to plan for the inevitable backlash from fans, players, and the media.

"This is not the time to do it," the executive said.

He made this warning, the Times reports, after seeing English pundit Gary Neville brutally excoriating the plans during commentary on a Sunday afternoon Premier League game soon after plans for the announcement were leaked to the media.

Key architects of the plan like Real Madrid's Florentino Perez, Juventus' Andrea Agnelli, and Manchester United's Joel Glazer, however, insisted on going ahead with the Sunday night announcement.

As had been expected by some involved, including the unnamed executive, the backlash was massive. By Monday morning, the world of football was at war, and by Tuesday evening, almost half the clubs involved had pulled out amid protests from fans and anger from players.

On Wednesday, Agnelli himself publicly admitted that the plan was no longer viable.