European leagues ‘united’ against breakaway as Real, Barca and Juve go to court

European Leagues chiefs have reiterated their stance against the lingering “threat” of a proposed breakaway Super League.

The attempt to establish a lucrative European Super League, in which some of the continent's biggest clubs would be permanent members, first surfaced in April last year.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and Barcelona counterpart Joan Laporta were prime movers in the controversial project, which also included Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus.

But the idea was quickly shot down amid a backlash from fans and opposition from Uefa, Fifa and even the British Government.

However, Real, Barca and Juve remain determined to push on with the proposal and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been asked to rule on whether Uefa and Fifa abused a dominant position under EU competition law by blocking the Super League.

The ECJ advocate general's findings will be announced on December 15 and that could provide a strong indication of the final outcome of the case, which is expected next year.

Alberto Colombo, the deputy general secretary of the European Leagues, broached the subject at its general assembly in Portugal yesterday.

He said: "We have discussed the Super League and this threat that we have on the table, targeting to destroy the current ecosystem in Europe.

"We have reiterated the unity among the leagues, the unity between all the stakeholders and with Uefa, together with all the federations and the vast majority of the clubs.

"There is going to be a fight in the tribunals in one month's time and therefore this cohesion and unity is fundamental in order to protect our ecosystem and the way football is structured and has been developed.

"There will definitely be developments from our side as well."