Euractiv
Nine of the 12 founder members of the short-lived European Super League rejoined the European Club Association (ECA) on Monday (16 August), but Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus remain outside as they continue to back the breakaway plan which collapsed in April.
The ECA said that Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan, along with all six English clubs involved in the planned ESL – Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur – had been reinstated after acknowledging that a Super League “was not in the interests of the wider football community”.
The nine clubs initially signed up to the project in April but quickly backed down within 48 hours in the face of overwhelming opposition from fans, players and national governing bodies.
The ECA called it “a regrettable and turbulent episode for European football” and also acknowledged the clubs’ “willingness to engage actively with the ECA in its collective mission to develop European club football — in the open and transparent interests of all, not the few.”
The nine clubs accepted punishments from UEFA, including a 5% in their European revenue for one season, after backing down and apologising for their “mistake” in joining the project.
However, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus remain committed to the ESL, with Barcelon’s recently elected president Joan Laporta claiming that Super League was “still alive”.
He insisted the Super League would mean “financial sustainability fo…
