Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have hit out at Uefa after accusing European football's governing body of applying "intolerable" pressure to ensure the collapse of the proposed, and controversial, European Super League.
The three clubs are the only founding members of the ESL to still be involved in the project after the other nine swiftly withdrew following fierce and widespread criticism.
Yet, while those other nine clubs - England's Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal, Spain's Atletico Madrid, and Italian sides Inter Milan and AC Milan - issued apologies for their involvement, Real, Barca, and Juve have released a joint statement attacking Uefa for causing the ESL to collapse.
The statement comes after Uefa said on Friday that the three clubs will face sanctions and that disciplinary proceedings have started against them.
"The founding clubs have suffered, and continue to suffer, unacceptable third-party pressures, threats, and offences to abandon the project," Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus said in a joint statement.
"This is intolerable under the rule of law and Tribunals have already ruled in favour of the Super League proposal, ordering FIFA and UEFA to, either directly or through their affiliated bodies, refrain from taking any action which may hinder this initiative in any way while court proceedings are pending."
A breakaway Super League set up by 12 clubs was announced last month but fell apart after 48 hours.
The nine other clubs that backed out of the plan have signed a "Club Commitment Declaration" including a series of reintegration steps.
The Super League argued it would increase revenue for the top clubs in Europe and allow them to distribute more money to the rest of the game.
Uefa, other teams and fan organisations, however, said the league would only boost the power and wealth of elite clubs.
Juve, Real and Barca said they were ready to reconsider the proposed approach of the breakaway project following the backlash, but said it would be "highly irresponsible" for them to abandon the project.
"We are fully aware of the diversity of reactions to the Super League initiative and, consequently, of the need to reflect on the reasons for some of them," the statement added.
"We are ready to reconsider the proposed approach, as necessary.
"However, we would be highly irresponsible if, being aware of the needs and systemic crisis in the football sector ... we abandoned such mission to provide effective and sustainable answers to the existential questions that threaten the football industry."
The nine clubs who pulled out of the Super League have agreed to "take all steps within their power" to end their involvement in the league.
They have been handed financial punishments by UEFA and have agreed to make a combined €15 million ($18.24m) goodwill contribution to benefit youth and grassroots soccer across Europe.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
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