Royal revenge after 4 years
After four years of silence, Real Madrid have decided to open the old ledgers and settle the accounts. Left alone defending the dream of the European Super League, the Spanish giants now want the six Premier League clubs who fled the project in its earliest days to pay their share of the bill for its failure, estimated at 80 million euros.
The bill for the great escape
The British newspaper "The Athletic" revealed that Real Madrid believe Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur remain legally responsible for the initial costs of founding the European Super League, despite their swift withdrawal in April 2021.
Those costs could amount to 80 million euros in total, according to the newspaper. They cover the promotional and legal preparation of the project, a bill shouldered so far only by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.
You can check out, but you can never leave
Of the 12 founding clubs of the Super League, nine withdrew just days after the announcement: the six English clubs plus Atletico Madrid, Milan and Inter Milan. Juventus withdrew in 2023, then Barcelona followed officially last February, leaving Real Madrid alone.
Madrid, though, are relying on a decisive legal point. Every club signed a shareholders' agreement for the "European Super League" company, a holding company based in Spain, which included a commitment to "own and manage" the project jointly.
Florentino Perez had warned of exactly this from the very first day of the collective withdrawal in April 2021, delivering his famous line: "I will not waste my time explaining what a binding contract is here, but the truth is that the clubs cannot withdraw."
Madrid's lawyers argue that the phrase "own and manage" implicitly includes a financial commitment to pay the costs. The English clubs, by contrast, consider that their obligation ended with their public apology and the absence of any explicit mention of money in the leaked contracts.
Why have Real Madrid made their move now?
The timing is intriguing. Real Madrid's demand lands as the club prepare to appoint Bernd Reichart, the former chief executive of Super League promoter A22, as their new head of commercial operations once he concludes his work at the company.
It also follows Real Madrid finally declaring a truce with European football's governing body, UEFA, and the freezing of the Super League plans, along with its new project "Unify League", which comprised 96 clubs across four tiers.
By The Athletic's analysis, the Super League's legal situation stayed theoretical throughout the five years. Now there is a real bill to settle, and Real Madrid believe it should be divided equally between the 12 clubs.
Should Real Madrid insist on their demands, the only route is the courts. That would mean a long legal battle between Europe's biggest clubs, with sports lawyers the only beneficiaries.