Spanish football giants Barcelona have formally announced their withdrawal from the controversial European Super League project. In a statement released on Saturday, the Catalan club confirmed that it had communicated its decision in writing to both the European Super League company and the other participating clubs.
The announcement marks yet another major setback for the Super League, a project that has struggled since its inception in 2021. Initially launched by twelve of Europe’s biggest clubs, the league faced immediate backlash from fans, football associations, and governing bodies, prompting six English clubs—Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur, collectively known as the Premier League ‘Big Six’—to pull out shortly after its announcement.
Subsequently, Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Juventus also abandoned the project, leaving only Real Madrid and Barcelona as the primary proponents. With Barcelona’s recent exit, Real Madrid now stands as the sole remaining participant actively promoting the league.
| Club | Status in Super League | Year of Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | Withdrawn | 2021 |
| Chelsea | Withdrawn | 2021 |
| Liverpool | Withdrawn | 2021 |
| Manchester City | Withdrawn | 2021 |
| Manchester United | Withdrawn | 2021 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Withdrawn | 2021 |
| Atlético Madrid | Withdrawn | 2021 |
| Inter Milan | Withdrawn | 2021 |
| AC Milan | Withdrawn | 2021 |
| Juventus | Withdrawn | 2021 |
| Barcelona | Withdrawn | 2026 |
| Real Madrid | Active | – |
One of the key reasons behind Barcelona’s decision appears to be the club’s desire to restore and strengthen its relationship with UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA). Club president Joan Laporta has previously expressed his intention to rebuild close ties with UEFA, a plan he reaffirmed at a meeting in Rome last October.
In their official statement, Barcelona emphasised that the decision was made in the long-term interests of the club and with the aim of operating fully within the structure of European football.
The Super League’s initiators, A-22 Sports, had attempted to relaunch the project in 2024 under the name “Unify League,” seeking recognition from UEFA and FIFA for a new European competition. In December 2023, a European court ruled that restrictions imposed by UEFA and FIFA on such competitions could be considered an “abuse of dominance.” Nevertheless, UEFA later maintained that the rules revised after 2021 were fully compliant with European law.
Meanwhile, UEFA’s revamped Champions League format—with a 36-team ‘Swiss model’ league and revised revenue distribution—has been largely welcomed by most clubs, reducing interest in alternative competitions such as the Super League or Unify League.
Relations between Barcelona and Real Madrid, long allies in the Super League, have also soured recently. The clubs have been at odds over the ongoing “Negreira case,” in which a former official of the Spanish referees’ commission is under investigation regarding payments from Barcelona between 2001 and 2018.
With Barcelona stepping away, Real Madrid is left to carry the Super League initiative alone, further isolating the project and raising questions about its viability in European football’s evolving landscape.
