UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told soccer leaders his government will consider using "a legislative bomb" to prevent six English clubs joining the breakaway European Super League (ESL).

The proposals, which would involve 12 clubs from three countries – including Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur – forming a breakaway midweek "closed shop" league, have been widely condemned. 

European governing body UEFA has threatened clubs and players taking part with bans from all official competitions, including this summer's European Championship. World governing body FIFA has echoed the sentiment, mooting exclusion from the 2022 World Cup.

Johnson and Oliver Dowden, the UK's sports and culture secretary, met the heads of the governing Football Association and Premier League, and representatives of fans' groups on Tuesday morning. Sources quote Johnson at the event as saying: "We should drop a legislative bomb to stop it – and we should do it now."

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A subsequent prime ministerial statement stated that Johnson "was clear that no action is off the table and the government is exploring every possibility, including legislative options, to ensure these proposals are stopped."

His office also confirmed that ministers would consider cutting off support for breakaway clubs when it comes to securing work visas for overseas players.

Other options are believed to include changing the governance and ownership structures of English football. This could include copying the German rule in which fans' groups are guaranteed a majority stake in clubs.

Under the plans announced on Sunday, all 12 founding clubs – plus three as yet unnamed teams – will be permanent ESL members and never face relegation. The league would supplant the existing UEFA Champions League, the pinnacle of European club soccer. A further five teams would be able to qualify each season.

Alongside the English sextet in joining the ESL are Spain's Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid and Italy's AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan. No clubs from two of Europe's biggest leagues – Germany's Bundesliga and France's Ligue 1 – will compete.

Leading soccer journalist Oliver Holt, of the Mail on Sunday, tweeted on Tuesday that "two English clubs are close to losing their nerve" and may pull out.

The 14 Premier League clubs not included in the breakaway are also due to meet on Tuesday to discuss their response. They are believed to be unanimously against the proposals.

Although mooted for many years, the proposal has come out of the blue, with the UK's leading sports rights broadcaster Sky Sports insisting it had not "not been involved in any discussions" about the plans.

UK-based fan representatives, along with many within the game – including Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp – have spoken out against the plan. Prince William, who is a keen Aston Villa supporter and FA President, spoke of his worries about "the damage it risks causing to the game we love."

Enraged UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said on Monday the idea was to "spit in the face of all football lovers" and said his organization could ban clubs and players involved "as soon as possible."

He said: "We're still assessing with our legal team, but we will take all the sanctions we can. My opinion is that as soon as possible they have to be banned from all our competitions."

UK watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority said it would be "carefully considering any competition aspects of these proposals."

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez was unrepentant on Monday and predicted no club would be thrown out of this year's Champions League. Three of the four clubs due to take part in this month's lucrative semi-final stage – Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City – are among the inaugural ESL members.

Perez told the Spanish media outlet El Chiringuito: "Madrid will not be kicked out of the Champions League, definitely not. Nor City, nor anyone else. It's not going to happen. I don't want to get into the legal reasons but it's not going to happen. It's impossible."