Laporta's Reconciliation with Al-Khelaïfi Deals Another Blow to the Super League

After years of disputes and multiple confrontations stemming from old grievances between the clubs they represent, and particularly a personal rift due to the project threatening to cause a schism in the football industry, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi and Joan Laporta showcased a new understanding on Wednesday in Rome that could deliver the final blow to the Super League.

"Yesterday we had a special guest here, the president of Barcelona was present. A long-time friend. Sometimes friends may disagree with us, have discrepancies, but then a solution is found. I want to thank him for returning to this family," expressed Al-Khelaïfi on Thursday after Laporta conveyed his intention for the Barcelona entity to rejoin the European Club Association (ECA), an organisation led by the PSG chief and which has become UEFA's main weapon in its fierce battle against the initiative that shook the foundations of football in April 2021.

It was in that month when a project spearheaded by Florentino Pérez officially launched, initially grouping twelve of the most powerful clubs in the Old Continent, but from which almost all founding members quickly withdrew amid threats from the highest European football authority, opposition from national leagues, and disdain from many fans who opposed the formation of a closed competition that could disrupt domestic tournaments. Milan, Arsenal, Atlético de Madrid, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur were stepping off the ship, at least publicly, leaving Real Madrid and Barça as the only defenders of a project that both clubs continued to staunchly support.

Thus, while UEFA sponsored a Champions League overhaul to satisfy the economic appetites of many of those clubs that initially joined forces with Real Madrid and Barça, the two Spanish football giants were the only ones holding their ground, deploying all their legal artillery and placing their hopes on A22 Sports Management, a promoter 50% owned by Anel Capital SL, a company owned by banker Anas Laghari, a trusted figure of Florentino Pérez; and John Carl Hahn, a renowned businessman who has worked with firms like Morgan Stanley or the Providence fund.

These attempts, however, have proven fruitless to date. Despite the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) ruling in December 2023, which gave the Super League a lifeline by determining that UEFA and FIFA rules requiring prior authorisation for new football competitions were illegal and represented an abuse of their dominant position, allowing clubs to freely organise new leagues without any threats from federations, the project still had only two defenders. And one of them, as of this Wednesday, seems to have stepped off the ship.

It had to be precisely in the land of the famed 'Pax Romana' where Laporta and Al-Khelaïfi sealed an alliance that leaves Florentino Pérez alone. "As Barcelona, we are for the pacification of European football, what we want is an agreement and to return to UEFA. This is what all clubs want, and we are working towards that," Laporta said on Wednesday in the eternal city, where he was accompanied by his vice-president Rafa Yuste to strengthen ties with UEFA and its president, Alexander Ceferin, at a dinner that served to bless what is shaping up to be Barça's return to the established order.

"We are all here because football is more than a job: it is our shared passion, our passion. And although there are differences among us - big clubs, small clubs, different cultures, different stakeholders - differences should never mean conflict. There is so much conflict in the world today that we are all tired of it. It is our duty to build bridges. To unite people. The power of football is greater than anything else, and its power to unite has never been more needed than today," highlighted Al-Khelaïfi a day later during an intervention in which he sent a message of unity – "we work together, we win together, we lose together" – from which only Real Madrid now seems to distance itself.