Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus ‘threaten clubs withdrawing from Super League with legal action’

The European Super League clubs are reportedly at war with one another just weeks after the breakaway plans collapsed, with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus now threatening legal action against the clubs preparing to withdraw from the project.

It comes as only nine of the 12 founder members agreed to a peace deal with UEFA on Friday and accepted being fined millions of pounds.

The three European giants who are yet to renounce the Super League have warned their former partners they will extract millions of dollars in penalties if they walk away from the league, according to the New York Times.

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus are refusing to let the European Super League plans die 

Furious Man United fans have been protesting against their owners after their involvement in it

Nine clubs have agreed to sign a letter confirming their intention to withdraw from the Super League after UEFA warned they could be hit with a two-year Champions League suspension

But Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus are set to face ‘appropriate action’ under UEFA’s disciplinary process after failing to distance themselves from the Super League, with the organisation’s chief Aleksander Ceferin praising the nine clubs who had ‘quickly realised their mistake’. 

Ceferin said: ‘I said at the UEFA Congress two weeks ago that it takes a strong organisation to admit making a mistake especially in these days of trial by social media. These clubs have done just that.

‘In accepting their commitments and willingness to repair the disruption they caused, UEFA wants to put this chapter behind it and move forward in a positive spirit.

‘The measures announced are significant, but none of the financial penalties will be retained by UEFA. They will all be reinvested into youth and grassroots football in local communities across Europe, including the UK.

UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin praised the clubs who had ‘recogised their mistakes quickly’ 

‘These clubs recognised their mistakes quickly and have taken action to demonstrate their contrition and future commitment to European football. The same cannot be said for the clubs that remain involved in the so-called ‘Super League’ and UEFA will deal with those clubs subsequently.’

On those clubs – Real, Barca and Juve – the tone was strikingly different in UEFA’s statement.

‘UEFA has reserved all rights to take whatever action it deems appropriate against those clubs that have so far refused to renounce the so-called ‘Super League’,’ the statement concluded.

‘The matter will promptly be referred to the competent UEFA disciplinary bodies.’ 

The Super League collapsed after fans of the founding clubs staged protests last month

The Premier League clubs along with Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan have officially signed up to a settlement with UEFA to participate only in the existing open European competitions and accepted giving up 5 per cent of revenue for one season playing in Europe. It wasn’t specified if that would be this or a future season.

Teams from England and Spain reaching the final can earn more than £100m, meaning £5m would be sacrificed.

The nine clubs will also make a combined payment of €15m (£13m) for what UEFA called a ‘gesture of goodwill’ to benefit children, youth and grassroots football.

In a move to prevent them deploying the Super League threat again, the clubs have also agreed to be fined €100m (£87m) if they seek again to play in an unauthorised competition or €50m (£43m) if they breach any other commitments to UEFA as part of the settlement.

The nine clubs to sign up to UEFA’s ‘club commitment declaration’ will rejoin the European Club Association, which they quit on May 18 when the Super League was announced, and they will terminate their legal involvement with the company.

The English clubs could yet face separate sanctions from the Premier League and Football Association which is investigating their attempt to split from the established structure. UEFA indicated a desire for the agreement to settle with UEFA to serve as mitigation when domestic punishments are assessed. 

Barcelona are one of three clubs threatening other founding teams with legal action if they try to pull out of the project

The Super League was met with fierce criticism when it was first announced last month, with the plans collapsing within 48 hours due to the significant backlash it received and widespread protests from fans.

The clubs who were part of the breakaway, which could have devastated the value of leagues and clubs across Europe, were condemned by UEFA and threatened with expulsion from their competitions. 

UEFA have since said clubs who agree to distance themselves from the league will be treated more kindly while those who refuse to back down could be hit with a punishment as severe as a two-year Champions League ban.

In their letter, sent on Thursday, the three clubs accused the teams that have publicly declared their intention to abandon the League of committing a ‘material breach’ of the founders agreement. 

Manchester City were the first to announce their intentions to withdraw from the Super League, which sparked the five other Premier League clubs involved to follow suit while some club owners issued apologies for backing the plans.

Despite the Super League’s seemingly imminent demise, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who was a major driving force behind the breakaway proposals, and Juventus chief Andrea Agnelli are still refusing to formally distance themselves from the scheme.

UEFA are keen for all 12 clubs to reach an agreement so the whole debacle can be laid to rest. However, according to the Super League contract, the withdrawal of nine clubs is enough to force the entity to be liquidated.  

The 12 Super League clubs have not yet received punishment for attempting to breakaway but are expected to be hit with financial penalties as opposed to sporting sanctions in the coming months.