MILAN (AP) — The formal end of the divisive Super League project in European soccer was signaled Wednesday with an agreement announced between Real Madrid and UEFA.
A short statement in dense legal language was published days after Barcelona formally pulled out of the Super League that left 15-time European champion Madrid and its president Florentino Perez looking even more isolated.
Though Madrid and Barcelona won a ruling at the European Court of Justice at Luxembourg against Champions League organizer UEFA more than two years ago, no new clubs publicly came forward to join the breakaway project which had no clear path forward.
The agreement Wednesday between Madrid, UEFA and the influential European Football Clubs group said principles were agreed that “will also serve to resolve their legal disputes.”
It was announced as European soccer leaders met in Brussels on the eve of UEFA’s annual congress of 55 member federations.
The statement spoke of “months of discussions conducted in the best interests of European football” with a future principle being “the enhancement of fan experience through the use of technology.”
Real Madrid was at the head of 12 Spanish, Italian and English clubs which attacked UEFA in April 2021 by launching a breakaway Super League which hoped to start play with 20 teams.
The rebel clubs timed their attempted rupture in European soccer on the eve of UEFA agreeing the outline of reforms to the Champions League format that they themselves had pushed for to provide more games and better chances to earn greater prize money.
The Super League project quickly collapsed within 48 hours amid a fierce backlash in England by fans and the government which threatened legislation to protect the traditional structure of European soccer.
Madrid to rejoin European clubs?
The agreement could open the door for Madrid to soon rejoin the group of European clubs that the 12 Super League walked out from in 2021. Then, the network was known as European Club Association before its rebrand last year.
Only Barcelona and Madrid of the original 12 are still outside the clubs’ family which has grown bigger in their absence to include 800 members and become more influential with UEFA.
The refusal of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich to join the Super League played a part in its quick downfall, and the clubs’ group has been led since 2021 by PSG president and Qatari government official Nasser Al-Khelaïfi.
Champions League success
Real Madrid and Barcelona have continued to play in the Champions League, typically each earning more than 100 million euros ($119 million) from UEFA in prize money every season, which has been a popular success in a single league standings format they helped negotiate.
The evolution of the Champions League since 1992 regularly saw storied clubs push UEFA toward financial and sporting reforms in the competition with an implied threat of breaking away to form a club-controlled Super League.
When it finally happened five years ago, an alliance of UEFA, fan groups and lawmakers helped stave off the threat and ensure the most important European club competition — the Champions League — remains open for less wealthy clubs from less wealthy leagues to qualify based on sporting merit.
The next stage?
The reset of European soccer politics since 2021 has seen more power and influence acquired by the clubs through their joint commercial venture with UEFA, known as UC3, to oversee the continent’s club competitions.
UC3 has forged a new partnership with the London-based subsidiary of United States promotions agency Relevent, which shapes to be the driver of future changes in Champions League scheduling, formats and broadcast deals.
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