European Super League: Barcelona withdraw from project

Barcelona have withdrawn from the European Super League project, leaving rivals Real Madrid as the only club still signed up to the proposal of a breakaway league.

The reigning La Liga champions confirmed their decision in a brief statement released on the club website.

"FC Barcelona hereby announces that today it has formally notified the European Super League Company and the clubs involved of its withdrawal from the European Super League project," said the club.

A total of 12 clubs signed up to form a breakaway European Super League in 2021, including Premier League sides Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham.

But following a backlash from supporters, all six Premier League clubs withdrew from the project within 72 hours of its announcement.

Juventus became the 10th club to withdraw from the plans in June 2024, but Barcelona and Real Madrid remained committed to the project.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta confirmed in October 2025, external the club wanted to re-establish links with Uefa and rejoin the European Football Clubs (EFC), previously known as the European Clubs Association (ECA).

The La Liga giants were expelled from the ECA, along with the original 12 clubs that signalled their intention to join the breakaway league, after the proposals were made public.

The other 10 clubs who also withdrew have all since been reinstated in the EFC.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid are seeking "substantial damages" from Uefa following a series of court rulings made against the way the European governing body responded to the breakaway league plans.

Madrid's commercial court ruled in May 2024 that European and world governing bodies, such as Fifa, were practising anti-competitive behaviour and abusing their dominant position, echoing a similar decision made by the European Court of Justice.

The case was brought by A22 Sports Management, the company behind the ESL, against Uefa, Fifa, Spain's La Liga and the Spanish football federation (RFEF).

Uefa has since changed its rules around new competitions following the collapse of the ESL proposal.

It added the latest judgement, made by the Provincial Court of Madrid last October, did "not validate" the Super League project, "nor does it undermine Uefa's current authorisation rules".

Barcelona's withdrawal from the European Super League project has been expected for months.

It is just the latest step in the slow death of what is generally accepted as a badly conceived, and disastrously delivered, attempt to break away from the Champions League.

The closed-shop project was finished as soon as the six Premier League clubs pulled out in 2021.

With the fan-controlled Bundesliga teams not interested and Paris St-Germain snubbing it too, it was not going to be financially viable.

Juventus had pulled out by the time A22 Sports, the company behind it, tried a relaunch at the end of 2024.

Rebranded as the Unify League, it turned out to be another misstep.

The 96-team, multi-tiered competition was at least based on sporting merit. But the top division was limited to just 16 clubs. It was not likely to get the widespread support of top clubs it required.

Barcelona and Real Madrid plugged on, going through the courts to prove Uefa had no grounds to block the Super League.

The La Liga duo had some success, with Uefa having to rewrite its authorisation rules.

Real Madrid also said they had won the right to "claim substantial damages".

But it was a series of Pyrrhic victories.

Real Madrid might still try to fight on but in truth the European Super League was killed off five years ago.

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