Officially, Real Madrid and Barcelona are the only sides that are still linked to the Superleague project that was presented in 2021, and remains on hold. However Real Madrid President Florentino Perez continues to claim that the Superleague remains alive and real – the company organising the competition at the very least remain active.
A22 presented a format last year of a Star League, Gold League and Blue League instead of the Champions League, with 16 teams in the first two divisions, and 32 in the Blue League, from which 20 teams per year would be relegated. Two Clubs would be promoted and relegated up the leagues, and a knockout competition would be held for the top eight in the Star League to determine the winner.
Ronald Araújo most likely won't feature until after the Borussia Dortmund game. @tjuanmarti
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 5, 2024
After A22 spoke to 100 clubs, MD say that around 60 have indicated a willingness to join the Superleague. They feel under the right conditions they could attract more, and the one key feedback was that other clubs wanted more meritocracy, which champions from leagues around Europe wanting their spot in the Star League, which would see the likes of Bayer Leverkusen this year straight into the top division after winning the Bundesliga, rather than going into the Blue League.
Of the original 12 breakaway members of the Superleague, Barcelona and Real Madrid believe all but Inter (who had an asterisk next to their presence pending shareholder approval) remain linked to the project. Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Bayern Munich remain the chief opposition amongst Europe’s biggest clubs, although there is a belief the Bavarians could be convinced with the right format.
🚨🔴⚪️ Athletic Club has lost just one of their last 27 matches at home. That loss came against Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid, thanks to an Ángel Correa last-minute winner.@medinamarca pic.twitter.com/gy02XubUSt
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) December 5, 2024
The other key point of feedback was the length of the competition. Currently it would take any side 19 games to win the competition, while the figure in the Champions League is currently 17 – if the number of games can be reduced, that would also go down well with the clubs involved. Despite the obvious lack of organisation, they maintain the Superleague could go ahead in 2025 or 2026.
A court ruling in Spain has thus far prevented UEFA from punishing Real Madrid or Barcelona for their role in the project, but A22 would likely need to give clubs more guarantees in order to convince them to leave the UEFA and the Champions League. The Superleague has promised to bring in €1-2b more per season through advertising on a free to air online platform, and distribute more money to clubs, however they are not a governing body of European football. There has been no figures given on commitment of funds to grassroots football or nations with lower budgets.