Players, critics and fans celebrated a "beautiful football day" after the breakdown of the separatist European Super League following the withdrawal of 6 English clubs that had agreed to join the controversial competition.
After a storm of protests and threats to impose sanctions from the European and international federations of the game, the Super League said it would "reconsider" its next steps after the number of its participants decreased to 3 clubs from Spain and Italy on Tuesday.
Amid reports that Inter Milan and AC Milan have also withdrawn, former Liverpool defender Jimmy Carragher described the tournament as now dead.
"The Super League is over! People are doing well all over the country!" He said on social media.
Manchester City was the first to announce its withdrawal from the Super League, before Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur announced to follow in his footsteps.
City defender Benjamin Mendy said: "What a beautiful day in football. Let's keep playing, fighting and dreaming."
Manchester United Executive Vice President Ed Woodward became the first victim of the backlash against the separatist championship, announcing his resignation shortly before his club abandoned a project that played a major role in bringing this new tournament to light.
"The clubs have returned to their senses," said former Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand, who was a staunch critic of the separatist tournament from the start.
"The clubs have finally returned to their senses and have withdrawn from the Super League," he wrote on social media. "Football is about the fans and will always be related to them."
"The masses have definitely not been taken into account, this is a shame," he added.
Save us football
Fans gathered in large numbers outside Stamford Bridge Stadium in Chelsea before their Premier League match against Brighton to protest the "separatist" league.
In the end, they sang "We Save Football", after reports emerged that Chelsea had withdrawn from the project.
The Football Association welcomed the withdrawal of the six English clubs and said the Super League was a "threat to the entire hierarchy of football."
"English football has a proud history of opportunities for all clubs, and all parties to the game are unanimous in rejecting the closed league ... it is a position that would naturally cause division in our game, but instead it succeeded in uniting us all," he said.
The split - which the launch of the Super League had threatened to happen in football - prompted political leaders in Europe to speak out, threatening to intervene at times.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that his government would have considered passing legislation aimed at stopping secession, likening plans to establish a "monopolistic entity."
There is anger towards the owners of the six English clubs, and some critics have indicated that they are not fit to supervise the clubs.
Grim Souness, a Liverpool player in the 1980s, said fans would not forgive them for this despite the backsliding.
"It has been proven that they are selling their souls ... They were going to sell the souls of our big corporations. They were selling their souls for quick profits. Our fans will not forgive them. We are not America," said Suness, an analyst at Sky Sports.