Real Madrid and UEFA reach agreement on European Super League project

Real Madrid have been pushing for the European Super League(ESL) as the biggest breakaway Super League to scrap the alleged monopoly of UEFA as the only football body to organise the competition amongst elite football clubs.

According to Sky Sports’ chief correspondent, Kaveh Solhekol, on Wednesday, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez and the club have finally reached an agreement with UEFA, ending their long-standing opposition as the last holdout supporting A22 Sports management— the company behind plans to offer competition to UEFA’s control over Europe’s premier football competitions.

The project to launch a new European football competition, led by a rival power to challenge UEFA’s dominance, was unveiled five years ago but collapsed in April 2021 under intense fan backlash and widespread support for UEFA.

A22 Sports Management (the company behind the Super League) continued pushing revised versions (e.g., “Unify League” with open access and free streaming), but no major clubs joined after 2021.

12 top clubs were predominantly known to be leading the charge, including five Premier League clubs, but they all dropped off along the line, leaving just three clubs, including Juventus, Barcelona and Madrid.

However, Serie A giants, Juventus, dropped out along the way, leaving only the two La Liga giants, Barcelona and Perez’s Madrid, still fighting what he thinks is in his rights. Then, quite recently, Barcelona also left the course, leaving only Los Blancos on a lone journey.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin spotted exchanging pleasantries

UEFA won the short-term battle but faced a 2023 European Court of Justice ruling that its monopoly on approving new competitions violated EU competition law (though this did not revive the ESL)

The saga strengthened UEFA’s reforms (new Champions League format in 2024) and exposed deep tensions over money, power, and fan ownership in European football. Then, out of this, was born the new UEFA Champions League competition – with improved financial terms and big games to entertain the fans.

The most significant development is that Real Madrid has now reached an agreement with UEFA. However, the reported pact remains conditional: the most successful club in UEFA history must fully disentangle itself from any remaining financial or legal ties to A22, the entity behind the European Super League.

Coincidentally or incidentally, the announcement comes a day before UEFA’s congress in Brussels on Thursday, with Perez expected to deliver a speech as well as the UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin.

Fans may have been guised into accepting the new revamped Champions League format without realising it is the same Super League many pushed back with rage years ago.

The revamped Champions League now features a 36-team league phase with far more matches and significantly higher financial rewards compared to the old format — exactly the kind of reform Florentino Perez has championed for the past five years while leading the Super League breakaway effort.