Spanish giants Barcelona have formally confirmed their withdrawal from the European Super League project on Saturday, February 7, 2026, leaving Real Madrid as the only club still involved in the controversial breakaway competition.
In a brief statement published on the club’s official website, Barcelona announced that it had formally notified the European Super League Company and the clubs involved of its withdrawal from the project. The Catalan club stated that the decision brings an end to nearly five years of involvement with the initiative that was launched in April 2021.
A total of 12 clubs initially joined the European Super League when it was unveiled as a breakaway competition designed to rival UEFA’s (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League, built around a closed 20 team model with 15 founding members protected from relegation. The original founding clubs included Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham from the Premier League, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid from Spain, and AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus from Italy.
The six Premier League clubs involved quickly withdrew within days of the announcement in April 2021 following fierce backlash from fans, domestic leagues and football authorities across Europe. Public opposition, coupled with political pressure and UEFA resistance, pushed club after club to abandon the project. Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan subsequently withdrew, leaving only Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus as the remaining participants.
Juventus formally withdrew from the Super League in June 2024, opting to rejoin the European Football Clubs (EFC), previously known as the European Clubs Association. Barcelona’s exit on Saturday now leaves Real Madrid standing alone as the only major club still publicly tied to the controversial project.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta had signaled the club’s intention to distance itself from the Super League project in October 2025, expressing a desire to rebuild ties with UEFA and the European football establishment. Laporta stated that Barcelona was committed to building bridges between the Super League and UEFA, emphasizing the club’s position in favor of pacification.
Speaking in October, Laporta noted that Barcelona felt very close to UEFA and the EFC, stressing the importance of the club being represented in those bodies to implement improvements. The president indicated that there was a way forward for clubs in the Super League to return to UEFA and that Barcelona was seeking peaceful resolution to the tensions created by the breakaway project.
Barcelona’s formal withdrawal comes four days after Laporta confirmed his board’s resignation ahead of standing for reelection in the club’s presidential elections scheduled for March 15, 2026. The timing of the announcement appears strategically aligned with Laporta’s campaign to secure another term as president, with the Super League association potentially viewed as a political liability.
The relationship between Barcelona and Real Madrid has deteriorated significantly in recent months. Before the Spanish Super Cup final in January 2026, Laporta publicly stated that relations between Barcelona and Madrid were bad and broken, citing various issues that had distanced the two clubs. The Super League represented the last visible thread connecting the two rival presidents.
The legal dimension of the Super League project has continued despite its sporting collapse. In 2024, a Spanish court ruled that opposition to the Super League by FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) and UEFA prevented free competition. An appeal by UEFA was subsequently rejected in 2025, providing legal backing to the project’s promoters even as clubs abandoned it en masse.
As a result of the legal victories, Real Madrid and the Super League’s promoters, A22 Sports Management, are reportedly seeking more than $4 billion in damages from UEFA for allegedly blocking the competition through anticompetitive practices. The legal proceedings continue even as Barcelona has now formally exited the initiative.
Barcelona’s withdrawal represents another significant blow to the European Super League concept, which has struggled to gain traction since its announcement nearly five years ago. The project was rebranded as the Unify League in 2024 in an attempt to revive interest, but the departure of clubs has left the initiative without broad support among Europe’s elite teams.
UEFA has introduced reforms to the Champions League in response to concerns that initially fueled interest in a breakaway competition, including expanded formats and greater revenue sharing mechanisms. These reforms have addressed some of the financial and competitive concerns that drove clubs to consider alternative tournament structures.
Barcelona, along with the other clubs that announced their intention to join the Super League, were expelled from the European Clubs Association in 2021. The 10 clubs that withdrew have since been reinstated in the EFC, and Barcelona is now positioned to rejoin the organization as part of its reconciliation with UEFA and European football’s governing structures.
