'Football and fans have won' - Real Madrid & Barcelona presidents Florentino Perez & Joan Laporta celebrate new European Super League ruling

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice ruled against UEFA and FIFA, asserting that their opposition to the league breached EU law. The Super League, initially proposed in 2021 by top clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, and Chelsea, aimed to create a breakaway competition. However, it faced fan backlash, leading English clubs to withdraw before football authorities blocked the concept. However, the new verdict could see a new dawn of the Super League and Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, remarked that this ruling marks a "before and after in the history of European football."

Perez said: "At Real Madrid we welcome with great satisfaction the decision taken by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which is responsible for guaranteeing our principles, values and freedoms.

"In the coming days we will carefully study the scope of this resolution, but I do anticipate two conclusions of great historical significance. 

"First of all, that European club football is not and will never be a monopoly again. And secondly, that from today the clubs will be the owners of their destiny. Clubs see fully recognized our right to propose and promote European competitions that modernize our sport and attract fans from all over the world. In short, today the Europe of freedoms has triumphed again and today soccer and its fans have also triumphed.

"Faced with the pressures we have received for more than two years, law, reason and freedom are imposed today. And for this reason, Real Madrid will continue to work for the sake of football.

Barcelona also put out a statement after the verdict which read: "FC Barcelona wishes to express its satisfaction with the sentence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) assessing the Super League project as proposed by A22 Sports. As one of the clubs driving the Super League project, FC Barcelona feels that the sentence paves the way for a new elite level football competition in Europe by opposing the monopoly over the football world, and wishes to initiate new discussions as to the path that European competitions should take in the future."

The Catalans also released a video showing president Joan Laporta explaining why he remains a supporter of the controversial plan.

A22, the corporate body, which is backing the Super League project expressed their joy in a social media post after having "won the right to compete".

Despite the setback, UEFA remained defiant that the ruling is not an "endorsement" in favour of the Super League and insisted on its resoluteness to "uphold the European football pyramid".

The statement put out by UEFA read: "This ruling does not signify an endorsement or validation of the so-called ‘super league’; it rather underscores a pre-existing shortfall within UEFA’s pre-authorisation framework, a technical aspect that has already been acknowledged and addressed in June 2022. UEFA is confident in the robustness of its new rules, and specifically that they comply with all relevant European laws and regulations.

"UEFA remains resolute in its commitment to uphold the European football pyramid, ensuring that it continues to serve the broader interests of society. We will continue to shape the European sports model collectively with national associations, leagues, clubs, fans, players, coaches, EU institutions, governments and partners alike. We trust that the solidarity-based European football pyramid that the fans and all stakeholders have declared as their irreplaceable model will be safeguarded against the threat of breakaways by European and national laws."