Remember that surreal moment in early 2021 when some of the biggest teams in European soccer announced plans to form a Super League, followed quickly by almost all of them doing an about-face when the reaction to the plan proved to be…less than enthusiastic? Still, there was always the possibility that the concept could return (hypothetically, even in other sports) — but that’s starting to look even less likely than it did before.
Why? As The Athletic reports, Juventus have started the process of formally withdrawing from the Super League. Nine of the 12 teams announced as founding members of the league had already withdrawn, leaving only Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona remaining.
On Thursday, Juventus issued a press release announcing its plan to exit the Super League (or what’s left of it). There is one potential hurdle remaining: the two Spanish teams must give their approval. The club’s announcement stated that “under the applicable contractual terms, its exit will be completed and effective only if previously authorised by Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and the remaining clubs involved in the Super League Project.”
Inside the Shocking Rise and Sudden Fall of the Super League
Director Jeff Zimbalist’s docuseries “Super League: The War for Football” is out on Apple TV+The recently-concluded Serie A season was a frustrating one for Juventus, who ended up having 10 points deducted by the league over some, shall we say, creative accounting decisions during the pandemic — a scandal that had repercussions across European soccer.
That loss of points could have been worse — the initial penalty was a deduction of 15, rather than 10 — but it also contributed to Juventus finishing seventh overall for the season. At least with the Super League exit in progress, they’ll have one less thing to worry about for the 2023-24 season.
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