Juventus plan to leave Super League project after season of legal turmoil

TURIN, Italy: Juventus plan to leave the Super League project still being pursued by Real Madrid and Barcelona, though the club denied Tuesday they had been threatened with a European ban by UEFA. The three storied clubs are awaiting a ruling expected within weeks from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg into their legal challenge against what they claimed is UEFA’s monopoly control of European club competitions. But Juventus responded to reports they already left the Super League by explaining they contacted the two Spanish clubs “to initiate a discussion period” about their exit.

The three clubs were holdouts after the other nine Italian, Spanish and English clubs who joined them to launch the breakaway Super League in April 2021 renounced it within weeks of its quick failure. UEFA was a clear winner when the Luxembourg court gave a first, non-binding opinion in the Super League case in December that went against the clubs. It has been a tough season for Juventus’ owners, players and lawyers with no trophies won, legal cases lost and mass resignations among the board of directors.

A 10-point deduction in Serie A was finally confirmed last month in a false accounting case that dropped Juventus to finish seventh instead of qualifying for the next Champions League. That entry would have been worth tens of millions of euros (dollars) to the financially troubled club. However, even the two-time European champion’s place in the third-tier Europa Conference League are at risk from a separate UEFA investigation of the false accounting allegations.