Godfather's betrayal and the Spanish talebarer - this is why the ESL crumbled

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

The old proverb perfectly sums up the events from Saturday morning to Tuesday night, leading to an utterly eventful dissolution of the newly promoted European Super League. The sword of vengeance was in the hands of the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who executed a cold-blooded action against the plotters from his own surroundings, including even his godfather and Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli.

But, according to New York Times, this whole Ceferin's powerful counter-attack could be impossible without a small and ludicrous help from Barcelona's president Joan Laporta. To celebrate his victory in the club's presidential elections, Laporta organized a celebratory lunch with the La Liga chairman Javier Tebas. Instead of keeping a secret, the Blaugrana chief gossiped about the inevitable formation of the European Super League.

This guy enjoys chatting... Joan Laporta (©Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

That was the moment that started an avalanche...

"Tebas raised the alarm. He called officials in leagues across Europe. He called executives of powerful clubs. And he reached out to Aleksander Ceferin, the president of European soccer's governing body, the organization that Tebas knew had the most to lose," explains New York Times and adds that Ceferin then made an urgent call to Agnelli:

"His friend did not pick up. Ceferin - the godfather to Agnelli's youngest child - texted the Italian's wife and asked if she might get the Juventus president to call him urgently. He was three hours into his journey when his cellphone rang. Breezily, Agnelli reassured Ceferin, again, that everything was fine.

"Ceferin suggested they issue a joint communiqué that would put the issue to rest. Agnelli agreed. Ceferin drafted a statement from the car and sent it to Agnelli. An hour later, Agnelli asked for time to send back an amended version. Hours passed. The men traded more calls. Eventually, the Italian told Ceferin he needed another 30 minutes. And then Agnelli turned off his phone."

Well, we guess you all know what happened then. Agnelli and the rest of the conspirators were swept off in a smoothly performed act that saw Agnelli, Florentino Perez and Ed Woodward - the trio behind the plot - facing with a humiliating defeat.