Barcelona have officially withdrawn from the European Super League project, leaving rival club Real Madrid as the last remaining team supporting the breakaway competition.
The club released a formal statement confirming the decision. “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,” the brief declaration read. No further reasons for the exit were provided.
This move ends Barcelona’s involvement in a project that was first announced in April 2021 with 12 founding clubs. The idea faced immediate and intense backlash, particularly from fans in England. This led to the rapid exit of all six Premier League teams involved.
They were soon followed by the Italian clubs AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Atletico Madrid. Juventus, one of the original driving forces alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona, left the project in 2023. For some time, only the two Spanish giants had remained as public backers, until Barcelona’s withdrawal today.
The departure marks a step in the growing distance between Spain’s biggest football clubs. Barcelona have been strengthening their relationship with UEFA, European football’s governing body, which strongly opposed the Super League. In October, Barcelona President Joan Laporta said the club was “for the pacification of European football” and favored a return to the UEFA system.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid, led by President Florentino Perez, remains the most vocal advocate for the Super League. The Madrid club, along with the project’s organizers A22 Sports Management, are now its only remaining supporters. Their proposed model is for a free-to-view competition with 18 teams in a top division, featuring promotion and relegation across three tiers.
The split on the Super League comes amid heightened tensions between the clubs over other matters. Real Madrid have been particularly active in pushing for consequences for Barcelona in the ongoing ‘Negreira case,’ where Barcelona face charges of sporting corruption over payments to a former refereeing official. In December, Laporta suggested that Real Madrid’s focus on this case was linked to Barcelona’s cooling support for the Super League.
Barcelona’s exit appears to be the final blow to the original Super League plan, isolating Real Madrid in its pursuit to reshape European club football.