Barcelona president Joan Laporta said the club quit the European Super League to "rejoin the football family."

Published 2 hours ago on Feb 17th 2026, 6:00 am
By Web Desk
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said the club quit the European Super League to "rejoin the football family" and because of an "uncomfortable" relationship with Real Madrid.
Barça officially announced their withdrawal from the Super League on Saturday, leaving Madrid as the only remaining club from the 12 that launched the project in 2021.
The Catalan club's decision came after reestablishing relations with UEFA, the organisers of the Champions League, and the European Football Clubs (EFC) -- previously the European Club Association (ECA) -- in recent months.
"With UEFA, we have returned to the football family, definitively leaving the Super League," Laporta told Barça's official media channels.
"We have left because it's a project that could not be implemented. It had unravelled. There were only expenses and expenses; no benefits.
"The relationship with Real Madrid is not good and it was a permanently uncomfortable situation.
"Barça have acted correctly and with complete transparency. We are looking for sustainability in European football and want to contribute to the peace of football."
- Barcelona, Real Madrid's uneasy truce ends with Super League withdrawal
- Barcelona teen Marc Bernal hails 'dream' moment with first goal
- Barcelona's Hansi Flick backs Deco stay ahead of elections
The Super League originally launched in 2021 with the support of 12 of Europe's biggest clubs, but a fan backlash in England quickly saw the six Premier League teams -- Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur -- withdraw.
Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan and, eventually, Juventus followed suit, leaving LaLiga sides Madrid and Barça as the lone faces of the project.
The two Clásico rivals continued to push the idea in recent years, which was rebranded and relaunched as the Unify League in 2024, without garnering any significant support.
Barça officially announced their withdrawal from the Super League on Saturday, leaving Madrid as the only remaining club from the 12 that launched the project in 2021.
The Catalan club's decision came after reestablishing relations with UEFA, the organisers of the Champions League, and the European Football Clubs (EFC) -- previously the European Club Association (ECA) -- in recent months.
"With UEFA, we have returned to the football family, definitively leaving the Super League," Laporta told Barça's official media channels.
"We have left because it's a project that could not be implemented. It had unravelled. There were only expenses and expenses; no benefits.
"The relationship with Real Madrid is not good and it was a permanently uncomfortable situation.
"Barça have acted correctly and with complete transparency. We are looking for sustainability in European football and want to contribute to the peace of football."
- Barcelona, Real Madrid's uneasy truce ends with Super League withdrawal
- Barcelona teen Marc Bernal hails 'dream' moment with first goal
- Barcelona's Hansi Flick backs Deco stay ahead of elections
The Super League originally launched in 2021 with the support of 12 of Europe's biggest clubs, but a fan backlash in England quickly saw the six Premier League teams -- Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur -- withdraw.
Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan and, eventually, Juventus followed suit, leaving LaLiga sides Madrid and Barça as the lone faces of the project.
The two Clásico rivals continued to push the idea in recent years, which was rebranded and relaunched as the Unify League in 2024, without garnering any significant support.

Americans spend less of their income on food than almost ever. Why doesn’t it feel that way?
- an hour ago
England survive Italy scare to reach T20 World Cup Super Eights
- 11 hours ago
X briefly hit by ‘international outages’: monitors
- 11 hours ago
NASCAR descends on Daytona eager to move on from turbulent offseason, get back to racing
- 2 hours ago
Field Marshal Asim Munir vows to deepen Pak-UAE partnership
- 16 hours ago
Multan hosts All Pakistan Long Range Shooting Championship
- 16 hours ago

France’s extremely talented and extremely controversial ice dancers, explained
- an hour ago

Woke isn’t dead. Bad Bunny’s halftime show proved it.
- an hour ago

Westminster Int'l School Bahria Campus concludes Phoenix Fest & Mavericks 2026 in grand style
- 15 hours ago

PM invites Austrian businesses to expand investments in Pakistan
- 13 hours ago
PMD forecasts rain wind with thunderstorm in Balochistan, KP
- 12 hours ago
Arsenal stun Man City to boost their UWCL hopes and keep WSL title race alive
- 2 hours ago
You May Like
Trending





