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Former Super League and world club champions Bradford Bulls have been liquidated after the club's administrator rejected a bid to save the club, reports BBC Radio Leeds.

The Bulls entered administration for a third time in four years in November.

The administrators hoped to have a deal agreed by Christmas but turned down a bid from a consortium on 29 December.



Bradford won four Super League titles before being relegated to the Championship in 2014.

Despite the liquidation, BBC Sport's rugby league correspondent Dave Woods says he understands that a new incarnation of the club will be in the Championship this season but with a 12-point deduction.

'Everybody has been made redundant'

General manager Stuart Duffy told BBC Radio Leeds: "The solicitor acting on behalf of the administrators has told everyone that the club has effectively ceased trading and will be liquidated.

"The Rugby Football League have said they have contingency plans in place and someone could buy the club from the liquidators but at the moment everybody has been made redundant.

"I'm hopeful something comes of this but in what league I don't know.

"Everyone is very disappointed because we were led to believe that things would come to a successful conclusion today. Nobody has been paid their wages for December and we had been hoping to be paid tomorrow, so this is a bombshell.

"This is a nightmare for everybody involved."

How it came to this

Bradford Bulls were one of the most iconic names - and clubs - within British rugby league, having led the way when the sport switched to summer in 1996.

However, the Bulls' downfall has been swift. In March 2012 they revealed a £1m shortfall and the club was placed in administration in June. That August, Bradford Bulls Holdings Limited was sold to OK Bulls limited, a consortium led by local businessman Omar Khan.

In 2014 a second administration followed, along with a six-point penalty deduction, and they were relegated from Super League at the end of the season.

Despite reaching the Million Pound game in 2015, the Bulls lost to Wakefield and failed to reclaim their top-tier status.

In 2016 they failed to reach 'The Qualifiers' altogether, finishing fifth in the Championship.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/38418199

Sad times for an iconic rugby league club.