Barcelona has become the latest soccer club to cut ties with a proposed breakaway European Super League.

Barcelona, along with Real Madrid, had at one point been leading the fight to get a rival competition to the Champions League off the ground. But in a short statement on Saturday, Barcelona officially confirmed it would no longer be part of the contentious project, which sparked widespread outrage among fans when first announced in 2021.

“FC Barcelona hereby announces that today it has formally notified the European Super League Company and the clubs involved of its withdrawal from the European Super League project,” the five-time Champions League winner said.

It leaves Madrid as the leading club supporting the Super League, which was rebranded the Unify League in 2024.

The original plans for the Super League saw 12 of Europe’s most storied clubs announce plans to create a new 20-team elite tournament.

Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan were part of the original breakaway group.

Proposals would have seen 15 top clubs protected from relegation and effectively replaced the Champions League — Europe’s elite club tournament. It would also have had the potential to impact domestic leagues given the guaranteed entry of teams regardless of their success in national competitions.

In the face of a public outcry, the majority of the clubs quickly backed out. Madrid and Barcelona had been the last two publicly supporting a breakaway after, another holdout, Juventus, withdrew in 2023.

Later that year the European Union’s top court ruled that soccer’s governing bodies UEFA and FIFA acted contrary to EU competition law by blocking plans for a breakaway league. But despite the Madrid-based promoter of the Super League, A22 Sports Management, revealing plans for a revised competition, Barcelona's withdrawal is another blow to its hopes of creating a rival to the Champions League.

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer