Real Madrid is once again entering into an open conflict with UEFA, and this time it is a lawsuit worth as much as 4.5 billion euros.
The royal club, together with the company A22 Sports Management – the organizer of the European Super League project – filed a lawsuit against the umbrella European football organization, accusing it of abusing its dominant position and stifling market competition.
The lawsuit is based on a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which concluded in late 2023 that UEFA’s rules on approving new competitions violate EU antitrust regulations.
According to Real and A22, UEFA’s threats and sanctions against clubs that wanted to participate in the Super League caused enormous financial damage, damaged reputations and lost potential profits.
As a reminder, in April 2021, 12 of the most prestigious European clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and six English giants, presented a plan to launch the Super League – a new elite competition that would compete with the UEFA Champions League.
The project promised significantly higher revenues and greater financial independence for the clubs, but under pressure from UEFA and the public, it failed in less than two days.
UEFA then threatened the clubs with exclusion from domestic leagues and European competitions, which led to the withdrawal of almost all participants. In the end, only Barcelona and Juventus remained with Real, who eventually also abandoned the idea.
However, the president of Real Florentino Pérez did not give up on the project, stressing that the Super League is necessary for the “salvation of European football”.
During the past years, he led a series of legal proceedings against UEFA, and this lawsuit worth 4.5 billion euros represents the culmination of that multi-year struggle.
It now remains to be seen whether Real will be able to prove that UEFA abused their position and whether the idea of a Super League will be on the horizon again — perhaps this time with more allies than in 2021.
(Vijesti.ba)
