Barcelona is the latest top soccer team to abandon European Super League project

Barcelona has formally withdrawn from the proposed European Super League, leaving Real Madrid as the sole remaining public backer of the breakaway competition. The Catalan giants, once co-leaders of the project alongside Madrid, announced their exit in a terse statement released on Saturday.

“FC 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 club said.

The decision marks the end of Barcelona’s two-year public support for a tournament that ignited fierce backlash across Europe when first unveiled in 2021. Originally, 12 heavyweight clubs—including Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Atlético Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan—declared intentions to form a 20-team closed league that would have shielded 15 founding members from relegation and effectively supplanted the Champions League.

Faced with protests from supporters, governments and domestic leagues, most founding members retreated within days. Juventus held out until 2023, leaving Madrid and Barcelona as the final advocates. Despite a July 2023 European Court ruling that UEFA and FIFA had breached EU competition law by blocking the breakaway, momentum waned. A22 Sports Management, the Madrid-based promoter, rebranded the effort as the Unify League in 2024, but failed to secure fresh commitments.

Barcelona’s departure delivers another significant setback to the venture, leaving Real Madrid isolated in its pursuit of an alternative to Europe’s established club competitions.