Barcelona president Joan Laporta says the club quit the European Super League to “rejoin the football family” and because of an “uncomfortable” relationship with Real Madrid.
Barça officially announced their withdrawal from the Super League on Saturday, leaving Madrid as the only remaining club from the 12 that launched the project in 2021.
The Catalan club’s decision came after reestablishing relations with UEFA, the organisers of the Champions League, and the European Football Clubs (EFC) — previously the European Club Association (ECA) — in recent months.
“With UEFA, we have returned to the football family, definitively leaving the Super League,” Laporta told Barça’s official media channels.
“We have left because it’s a project that could not be implemented. It had unravelled. There were only expenses and expenses; no benefits.
“The relationship with Real Madrid is not good and it was a permanently uncomfortable situation.
“Barça have acted correctly and with complete transparency. We are looking for sustainability in European football and want to contribute to the peace of football.”
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The Super League originally launched in 2021 with the support of 12 of Europe’s biggest clubs, but a fan backlash in England quickly saw the six Premier League teams — Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur — withdraw.
Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan and, eventually, Juventus followed suit, leaving LaLiga sides Madrid and Barça as the lone faces of the project.
The two Clásico rivals continued to push the idea in recent years, which was rebranded and relaunched as the Unify League in 2024, without garnering any significant support.
