Super League project: ECA reinstates founding clubs except for Barça, Juventus and Real Madrid

"AC Milan, Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC, Club Atlético de Madrid, FC Inter Milan, Liverpool FC, Manchester City FC, Manchester United FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC will retain their ECA ordinary membership for the 2019-2023 cycle," announced the European Club Association on 16/08/2021.

These nine English (6), Italian (2) and Spanish (1) clubs were among the 12 founders of the European Super League project which was presented on 18/04/2021 (see below) but ultimately not implemented. The other three, who have not given up on the project, are FC Barcelona (LaLiga Santander), Juventus FC (Serie A TIM) and Real Madrid CF (LaLiga Santander).

"Following the receipt by ECA of specific requests asking the ECA Board to consider the withdrawal of their previous resignation requests of April 2021," the board therefore agreed to reinstate these nine clubs.

The latter "acknowledged and accepted that the Super League project was a mistake" and apologized "to fans, national associations, national leagues, fellow European clubs and UEFA," announced the European body on 07/05/2021.

However, "the founding clubs…