- Real Madrid, UEFA, and EFC reached an agreement resolving the Super League dispute
- The agreement effectively ends the controversial 2021 Super League project
- The Super League faced backlash, causing most founding clubs to withdraw support
In a major development in the world of football, Real Madrid has announced it has reached an agreement with UEFA and the European Football Clubs (EFC) to resolve their dispute surrounding the Super League project.
“UEFA, the European Football Clubs (EFC), and Real Madrid C.F. have reached an agreement for the good of European club football," the club said in an official statement.
In other words, this effectively marks the end of the Super League project that was initially announced in 2021, with support from 12 founding clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool, among others.
These clubs wanted to break away from the traditional UEFA Champions League model, arguing it is not monetarily beneficial for big clubs and makes football 'boring'.
However, the move was met with fierce backlash among fans. So much so, the majority of the founding members withdrew themselves from the Super League project, leaving only Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus as the remaining members.
Over time, Juventus and, most recently, Barcelona, broke away from the Super League project, leaving Real Madrid as the lone founding member. But with UEFA using its powers to not only restrict the clubs trying to support the project, but also uniting major clubs in Europe through EFC, Real Madrid appears to have finally given up.
Through the deal, Real Madrid has reached a peace understanding in which the two parties have agreed on a framework that respects the principle of sporting merit.
The deal puts emphasis on the financial sustainability of clubs and on enhancing the fan experience through the use of technology.
This comes against the backdrop of Real Madrid earlier filing a claim against UEFA, seeking more than 4.5 billion euros in damages related to the Super League issue.
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