European Super League: Juventus begin process to pull out of breakaway project

Although the initial idea of European Super League collapsed in 2021, Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid had stuck to the general principles of a breakaway league although other bug clubs went away.

But last month Juve demanded talks with the Spanish clubs and have now begun discussing their exit from the plan.

The Turin club said their exit would be completed and effective only if authorised by Barca and Real.

"Following such discussions, and given the existing discrepancies on the interpretation of the relevant contractual terms applicable to the European Super League Project, Juventus confirms that it has initiated the procedure to exit," a statement read.

It has been a turbulent few months for Juventus, who were initially docked 15 points by the Italian FA for financial rule breaches.

Juventus said their exit would be completed and effective only if authorised by Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Former Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli, one of the figures behind the ESL project, was given a 16-month ban from football on Monday in a case about irregularities in the club's payments to players. Agnelli and the entire board resigned from the Turin club in November.

The breakaway European Super League was formed in April 2021, when 12 of Europe's top football clubs launched a bid to wrest control of the game and its lucrative revenue away from European soccer governing body Uefa.

The move collapsed within 48 hours amid fan and player criticism that forced Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea, Milan, Internazionale and Atlético Madrid to pull out.

The punishment was overturned but a second hearing led to a 10-point penalty, which the club accepted.

The Turin giants finished seventh in Serie A and will enter the Europa Conference League. Without the 10 point deduction, they would have qualified for the Champions League at the expense of AC Milan.