Barcelona confirmed on Saturday they are withdrawing from Florentino Perez’s European Super League project, the club said in a statement, a decision that further strains relations with Real Madrid.
The call was made by Joan Laporta, long unconvinced by the plan, having opposed it in his 2021 campaign, though he had joined forces with his greatest foe for Barcelona’s short-term interests.
Since then, the picture has shifted. Barcelona’s finances have improved and ties with Madrid have soured. Perez had until recently kept publicly quiet on the Negreira affair, irking many socios, but after Laporta’s U-turn he has taken frequent swipes at Barça, underlining how much the project matters to him.
Laporta has meanwhile worked to rebuild relations with UEFA through Nasser al-Khelaïfi, the PSG president and an executive committee member, and Alexander Ceferin, who has been receptive during talks about a return to the Spotify Camp Nou, still under renovation. He has also moved closer to Javier Tebas, the La Liga president, a firm opponent of the Super League.
The timing is significant, arriving two days before Laporta’s resignation, which will automatically trigger the presidential election campaign, where he is viewed as the strong favourite. Perez, in open conflict with La Liga, now proceeds alone.
