Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United could be warned their players face bans from international tournaments if they join the European Super League breakaway.

Uefa and Fifa have the option of warning all players involved that they could become ineligible for World Cups and European Championships if Europe’s biggest teams press ahead with the alleged secret plans to form their own league by 2021.

Bombshell claims that breakaway talks have reached an advanced stage place the clubs on a collision course with governments, as well as domestic and international governing bodies.

The UK Government is also understood to “fully oppose” any Premier League team proposals to join forces with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Bayern Munich. Whitehall and the Premier League have been caught off guard by the series of leaked legal documents published by Der Spiegel and Reuters.

One senior Whitehall source said: “The Government hasn’t been told about any of this, which suggests the Premier League has also been kept in the dark. We would absolutely oppose this on the basis that it would threaten the culture of sport in England.”