The controversial European Superliga project is truly finished, or so says Nasser Al-Khelaifi. He leads the European Club Association (ECA). Al-Khelaifi also runs Paris Saint-Germain, the French champions and a European powerhouse. He’s very happy to see Barcelona coming back into the ECA fold.
“The Superliga was dead even before it began,” Al-Khelaifi stated clearly. “We don’t need another competition. We have the best club tournament right now, and even better formats are coming. That’s what we want, and Barcelona has agreed until now. We’ll see what happens next.” His words paint a picture of quiet triumph after a tense standoff.
Al-Khelaifi spoke at a press conference in Rome. This happened after the 32nd General Assembly of the ECA. A special guest was Joan Laporta, who is the president of Spanish champions Barcelona. Laporta was one of the key leaders involved in trying to start the Superliga.
“He’s a great friend, we go way back,” Al-Khelaifi shared, speaking about Laporta. “Sometimes, friends disagree on how to do things. But then, they find a way to fix it. I thank him for coming home to this family.” He added that all the clubs are happy to have Barcelona back. Al-Khelaifi even wished that Real Madrid, another Spanish giant, would follow Barcelona’s lead.
Joan Laporta confirmed that clubs are dedicated to finding common ground. They want to smooth over the arguments between the ECA and UEFA. The ECA has over 800 European clubs from 55 different countries. Aleksander Ceferin, the president of UEFA, was also present in Rome.
“There’s still a lot of work ahead of us,” Laporta admitted. He believes the ideas behind the Superliga project are good. He thinks UEFA should study them. “I truly feel we are all moving towards an agreement. This will bring peace to European football,” the Barcelona chief added.
The private, closed-off competition idea first came out in April 2021. But it fell apart in just 48 hours. Strong opposition came from many places. Football bodies, national governments, and even the fans themselves spoke out against it.
In October 2022, a company called A22 Sports Management was created. They pushed a new version of the project in February 2023. This updated plan suggested a league with 60 to 80 clubs. It would be open, with no permanent members, and based on how well teams played.
“I believe there’s room for us to talk together,” Joan Laporta explained. He hopes the Superliga clubs can rejoin UEFA. “We see this agreement moving forward, and we hope it will be finalized. But FC Barcelona feels very close to UEFA and the ECA right now.”
Out of the 12 clubs that first wanted to create the Superliga, nine have already backed out. Only FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and the Italian club Juventus kept supporting the idea.