Barcelona president Joan Laporta has all but confirmed that the club is ready to ditch the idea of the Super League and stick with UEFA.
Speaking at the Johan Cruyff Foundation event in Barcelona on Thursday, Laporta hinted that the Catalan giants are ready to mend ties with European football’s governing body.
“The president of UEFA and the president of the ECA, now the EFC, invited us to come to Rome,” Laporta said (via AS). “I attended several meetings. It was wonderful, exciting, and we discussed many issues.”
He then revealed that the club has taken steps to fix their relationship with UEFA.
“You know, we’re committed to building bridges between the Super League and UEFA. Barca has a clear position, and those affected and those responsible already know it.
“We’re in favour of peace because there’s room to explore together for the clubs in the Super League to return to UEFA. We feel very close to UEFA and the EFC.”
When asked if the club’s decision will effectively shut down the Super League, he said: “This is at the point of reaching an agreement with UEFA.
“Both Aleksander Ceferin and Nasser Al-Khelaifi are in a position to promote the agreement and welcome us into UEFA and the EFC.
“We are determined to take this step because it benefits European football and the clubs. It’s a very broad framework because it also benefits the players.”
Barca are one of Europe’s powerhouses that were firmly behind the idea of a breakaway Super League that was expected to give UEFA a run for their money.
They believed it would help to fix their precarious financial woes.
However, discussions about the Super League have failed to gather momentum, with clubs, players, and several voices in football rejecting the idea.
Meanwhile, Laporta also confirmed that Barca will go ahead with their La Liga clash against Villarreal in Miami, despite facing backlash.
Barca midfielder Frenkie de Jong has slammed the decision as ‘ridiculous’, but Laporta doubled down on the importance of the American market to the club.
“The match will be played,” Laporta said. “UEFA and La Liga have accepted it, and we will play wherever they tell us to. If they tell us to play in Miami, we will go to Miami.
“I respect him [De Jong], but the club will play wherever La Liga says, and we will go to Miami. If we have supported this idea, it is because it is an important market for us.”
