Real Madrid tell Premier League 'Big Six' to pay for European Super League costs

· Mirror

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham were among the 12 clubs that agreed to be part of the European Super League in April 2021 before they quickly pulled out

Real Madrid are reportedly demanding that the six English clubs that signed up to the European Super League (ESL) pay a share of the project's initial costs, despite its premature collapse. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham were among the 12 clubs involved in the ESL before it was abandoned following widespread condemnation.

In April 2021, the so-called Big Six of the Premier League initially signed up to a shareholders' agreement for the Spain-based European Super League Company. After five other clubs - Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Barcelona - pulled out in the years since, Real remain the only side who are still committed to the much-maligned project.

The Athletic report that chiefs at the Bernabeu believe Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, City, United and Spurs should be liable for the setup costs of the plan. Those costs could be as high as €80million (£67.3m) in total.

At the time of the project's demise, Real president Florentino Perez commented: "I'm not going to take my time to explain what a binding contract is here. But the fact is, the clubs can't leave."

News of Real's demand comes as the La Liga giants close in on appointing Bernd Reichart as their new head of business operations. Reichart, a German businessman, was formerly the CEO of A22, the management company based in Madrid working on behalf of the ESL.

In December 2023, when only Barcelona and Real were left in the project after Juventus had decided to withdraw earlier that year, A22 announced a change to how the competition would work. It was explained that 64 clubs would compete across three divisions, with relegation and promotion possible and the potential for new clubs to qualify for the league, rather than a closed shop.

There was another change of plan 12 months later. This time, the ESL would be comprised of 96 teams and four divisions, and was branded the 'Unify League'.

Barcelona formally pulled out of the ESL in February of this year, four months after Perez insisted that he was convinced it'd come to fruition.

"We have had our right to create our own competitions recognised," Real's president stated. "We can also claim multimillion euro damages for UEFA's conduct.

> "We have two rights: to be compensated for our losses, and to arrange a competition in the future, and we will tirelessly pursue both."

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