It's hard to believe the press release trumpeting the establishment of a European Super League landed less than 48 hours ago.
It's been two days the football world won't forget in a hurry and while the ESL still has a pulse for now, signs of life are becoming increasingly hard to find.
Even on Tuesday afternoon, the house of cards was remaining resolute, but at around 6.45pm it began to crumble and from there the deck fell apart quickly.
As Chelsea saw the depth of feeling outside Stamford Bridge, it was reported they were making plans to exit the league they'd been founding members of for less than two days. Manchester City are to follow suit and it won't end there.
The cascade of breaking news on Tuesday culminated with Ed Woodward's resignation as executive vice-chairman at Manchester United. While the timing certainly looks suspicious given United's role in the ESL and Joel Glazer's position as a vice-chairman of a league that looks like it will be in existence less than a week, it is understood the decision is not related to the Super League plans.
Instead, Woodward had always intended to step away from his role at the end of 2021. This was merely confirmation that he will be going at the end of this calendar year, with United sources fearing the story would leak with the decision already made.
So while the resignation of a figure who has always operated under intense scrutiny at Old Trafford will grab headlines, it isn't United's priority for now. They were already aware of the need to secure a replacement for Woodward in a job that is lucratively paid, extremely rewarded but also incredibly demanding, as the man departing can testify to.
Right now the priority at Old Trafford should be saving face over the ESL. Glazer's position in the league and the quote attributed to him in the press release makes this difficult for United. While Chelsea and City can always claim to have had doubts, that evidently isn't true at United.
But given the backlash since the announcement of the league late on Sunday, staying steadfast no longer looks to be an option. On Monday United insisted they were in this for the long haul, that they would remain in the Premier League and play in the ESL in midweek, and that they wanted talks with FIFA, Uefa and the Premier League.
Instead, it looks like the dozen clubs who signed up to the ESL will face the humiliation of a climbdown and a return to the round table at Uefa and Premier League HQ.
How they navigate that return is the priority right now, despite the bombshell news that Woodward's eight years in the role are to come to an end.
