Real Madrid and Barcelona hail European Super League ruling as 'great day for football'

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has declared it a "great day for the history of football" after UEFA's ban of the European Super League was overturned by the European Union's top court.

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice ruled against football's top governing bodies, UEFA and FIFA, after they blocked the controversial formation of the league.

Real Madrid and Barcelona, Spain's biggest clubs, were joined by six English teams including Arsenal and Chelsea plus others from Spain and Italy in announcing the breakaway plot in 2021.

However, the concept failed after fan pressure forced the Premier League clubs to quit before the Super League was formally blocked by football's authorities, in a decision that was nullified on Thursday.

In a statement, Real chief Perez declared his "enormous satisfaction" with the ruling and said clubs will now be "the masters of their own destiny".

"Today we once again have the duty and responsibility to give European football the new impetus it so badly needs," he said.

"And to achieve this, we will continue to defend a modern project, fully compatible with national competitions, open to all, based on sporting merit and that will effectively impose respect for financial fair play. A project that will bring economic sustainability for all clubs and that above all will protect the players and excite fans around the world."

The Super League was designed to make only five of its 20 places open to qualifying teams, while providing founding members with a "welcome bonus" worth upwards of £250million along with considerable TV rights and sponsorship revenue.

Despite the departure of the English clubs, Madrid and Barcelona have spearheaded attempts to revive the Super League which UEFA said on Thursday remains dead.

"This ruling does not signify an endorsement or validation of the so-called ‘super league’; it rather underscores a pre-existing shortfall within UEFA's pre-authorisation framework, a technical aspect that has already been acknowledged and addressed in June 2022," it claimed.

"UEFA is confident in the robustness of its new rules, and specifically that they comply with all relevant European laws and regulations."

The next steps taken by Europe's biggest clubs remain to be seen.

"In a year when the club is celebrating its 125th anniversary, Barça wishes to continue to offer its experience and knowledge of different sports to propose solutions for current issues in elite sport," read a Barcelona statement.

"That is why it is declaring its support for the Super League promoted by A22 and encourages constructive debate among both domestic and international football bodies, which have now been endorsed by today’s sentence by the Court of Justice of the European Union."