Barcelona have reportedly pulled out of the European Super League (ESL), leaving Actual Madrid as the one remaining founding membership nonetheless publicly related to the controversial breakaway undertaking.
In an announcement launched on Saturday, the Catalan membership confirmed its formal withdrawal from the scheme.
“FC Barcelona informs that at present it has formally communicated to the European Tremendous League Firm and the golf equipment concerned its withdrawal from the ESL undertaking,” the assertion reads.
Learn Additionally: What to know about European Super League format
The European Tremendous League (ESL) was unveiled in April 2021 as a rival to UEFA’s Champions League, constructed round a largely closed 20-team mannequin. The undertaking collapsed inside days after widespread fan backlash, political opposition and institutional resistance throughout Europe.
Twelve golf equipment initially signed on as founding members: six from the Premier League, three from Spain and three from Italy. All six English golf equipment, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester Metropolis, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, shortly withdrew, adopted by Atlético Madrid, AC Milan and Inter.
Juventus later confirmed in 2023 that that they had additionally exited the undertaking, leaving solely Barcelona and Actual Madrid publicly linked to the ESL till now.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta had continued to precise help for an alternate European competitors, arguing in January 2023 {that a} new mannequin might ultimately emerge, initially positioning it as a possible rival to the Premier League in industrial phrases.
Barcelona’s withdrawal now leaves Actual Madrid remoted because the final founding membership nonetheless brazenly tied to the ESL imaginative and prescient, additional casting doubt over the long-term viability of any breakaway European competitors.
