Barcelona has officially announced its withdrawal from the European Super League, marking another setback for a project that has faced significant challenges since its inception.
The Super League was initially launched in 2021 with backing from 12 of Europe’s leading clubs. However, strong fan backlash in England led to the exit of six Premier League teams: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.
Following this, Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and eventually Juventus also withdrew, leaving only Real Madrid and Barça as the remaining supporters of the project.
However, tensions with Madrid have escalated recently, and with Barça president Joan Laporta re-establishing relations with UEFA and the European Football Clubs (EFC), Barcelona has decided to step back as well.
“Barcelona officially announces that [on Saturday] it has formally notified the European Super League Company and the clubs involved of its withdrawal from the European Super League project,” confirmed the LaLiga leaders in an official statement.
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Following the initial backlash to the Super League’s launch, plans were restructured, and it is set to be relaunched in 2024 as the Unify League.
The Super League promoter A22 Sports indicated at that time it had submitted a proposal to UEFA and FIFA, asking for official recognition to organize a new European competition.
This move came after a December 2023 ruling by the European Court of Justice, which stated that UEFA and FIFA had been “abusing a dominant position” and described their regulations governing new formats as “arbitrary.”
In response, UEFA maintained that the new rules implemented since the Super League’s initial launch in 2021 now align with EU law.
Despite A22 Sports’ intentions, interest in the Super League appears limited following recent changes to the Champions League format.
The transition from eight groups of four to the Swiss model, featuring 36 teams in a single league, along with changes in revenue distribution, has generally been well-received by clubs.
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The relationship between Barça and Madrid has also deteriorated in recent months, especially between their respective presidents, Laporta and Florentino Pérez.
As sponsors of the Super League, they had previously set aside their differences in pursuit of a competition they believed could provide financial benefits amid the struggles of many European leagues to compete with the riches of the Premier League.
However, significant disagreements have resurfaced, particularly with Pérez and Madrid advocating for actions against Barça in light of the ongoing Negreira investigation, concerning payments made by the Blaugrana to the vice president of the refereeing commission in Spain from 2001 to 2018.
In October, Laporta confirmed his intentions to rebuild connections with UEFA and the EFC during a meeting in Rome.