The European Super League was officially shelved. Real Madrid, the last major supporter of the project driven by Florentino Pérez since 2021, announced its withdrawal after reaching an agreement in principle with UEFA and the European Football Clubs (EFC). The decision marks the end of one of the biggest institutional clashes in the recent history of European soccer.
The white club stated that the understanding was sealed "for the good of European club soccer, respecting the principle of sporting merit and emphasizing the long-term sustainability of clubs and the improvement of the fan experience through the use of technology". The agreement also includes the settlement of the open legal disputes between the parties once the final deal is formalized.
The announcement comes days after Barcelona made its withdrawal from the project official, leaving Madrid as the only survivor among the original backers. With this decision, a cycle that began on April 18, 2021, comes to a close, when twelve founding clubs from Spain, England, and Italy presented an alternative competition to the Champions League, with a closed model that promised revenues of nearly 400 million euros per year for each participant.
