Real to sue UEFA for four billion!

The biggest clubs wanted a competition of their own, while UEFA was determined to remain the ultimate authority in football. With the strong backing of fans — and considerable political support, especially from Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron — UEFA managed to force the clubs to abandon their plans for a European Super League. However, not all clubs faced the same level of pressure, and some advocated for the split from UEFA more openly than others — above all, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus. Alongside them stood the A22 company, tasked with representing the Super League’s interests. For that reason, they filed a lawsuit against FIFA, UEFA, and La Liga before a court in Madrid — and have now won again, after the appeal against the initial ruling was rejected. What is worse, the European house of football is faced with a massive four billion euros damage claim from Real!

With this new ruling, the Madrid court confirmed what it had already declared in May 2024: UEFA and FIFA had abused their absolutely dominant position in world football and restricted competition, while the European Super League had the full legal right to organize its own competition. The court also ordered FIFA, UEFA, and La Liga to pay court costs.

"The club announces that it will continue to work for the good of global football and fans, while claiming substantial damages from UEFA," Real Madrid said in a statement. Now Financial Times are claiming that those damages will be around four billion euros. According to AS, the figure represents lost profits, reputational harm and competitive damage caused by UEFA’s alleged monopoly. Lawyers for both Madrid and A22 are already drafting the claim, marking a decisive shift in strategy. After months of failed discussions and nearly a dozen unproductive meetings, the parties have decided to go on the offensive.

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The ruling came despite the appeals lodged by those organizations, which contested the initial decision. First, they argued that it had been issued in Madrid, while UEFA’s headquarters are in Nyon, Switzerland. Second, they claimed that the original Super League project had already been abandoned and that UEFA had reformed its competition system in 2022. The Madrid court dismissed all such objections. It ruled that even though UEFA is based in Switzerland, its decisions have an impact in Spain and throughout Europe. Furthermore, it found that the case remains relevant, since legal barriers still exist that could hinder the creation of future competitions. The court also determined that both UEFA’s and FIFA’s systems are not entirely transparent and lack clear procedural frameworks.

All of this doesn’t necessarily mean the Super League idea will be revived, but it could create serious problems for the international football governing bodies in the future — possibly even the near future. In the end, as always, it all comes down to money — and who controls it. The big ones make the decisions; the small ones can only wait on the sidelines and hope to be remembered.