In 2009, Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, began planning for a "super-league competition," stating that the Champions League was too "obsolete and problematic" for the quality of the sport, and was "an obstacle preventing clubs from growing their businesses and developing infrastructure".

The remainder of the competition would take place in a four-week span at the end of the season, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals featuring two-legged ties, while the final would be contested as a single fixture at a neutral venue.

[61] On 20 June 2021, The Times reported that the 6 English clubs, which remained co-owners and shareholders of the Spanish holding company, had failed to formally leave it, and that the project's organisers had stated the competition would "eventually relaunch in modified form".

[88] Before a game between the clubs on 19 April, Leeds players warmed up in t-shirts condemning the competition, featuring the UEFA Champions League logo alongside the caption 'earn it' on the front, and 'football is for the fans' on the back.

[93] Numerous politicians expressed their opposition to the proposals across Europe, the most prominent coming from the British government, with the objections to the ESL uniting political parties completely behind its prevention.

The reaction of former Manchester United player, current Salford City co-owner, and Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville (who had defended the league vice-chairman Joel Glazer's ownership of Manchester United just over a year previously) generated strong attention on social media, calling the formation "an act of pure greed" and being especially disappointed at his former club's admission, going on to say that stringent measures must be taken against the founding clubs, including bans from European competitions and point deductions.

[145] On 19 April 2021, Aleksander Čeferin stated that UEFA would begin making "legal assessments" on the following day, and that the organisation would look to ban the twelve Super League clubs "as soon as possible."

[161][159] On 7 June, the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police notified the Spanish precautionary measure to both governing bodies, ruling them to not execute sanctions against Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid.

[163][164] Both UEFA and LaLiga have challenged the judge Ruiz de Lara, arguing that he is not impartial and that in the exercise of his jurisdictional function, he shows a clear bias towards the claims of the plaintiff European Super League Company S.L.

[165][166] On 15 December 2022, Athanasios Rantos, advocate general for the European Court of Justice (CJEU), issued a report stating that FIFA's and UEFA's regulations were "compatible with EU competition law," with a final judgment from the Grand Chamber first expected to come in spring but yet to be announced.

[17] Spearheaded by Florentino Pérez of Real Madrid and Andrea Agnelli of Juventus, the Super League was in the works for three years; however, the final phases were rushed, and allegiance among the twelve clubs, instead of the fifteen as originally planned, seemed to have been forged under pressure.

As reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich allegedly withdrew in light of his relations with Russia, which through Gazprom is a major sponsor of the UEFA Champions League.

Manchester City allegedly pulled out as Saudi Arabia, which does not have a positive human rights image internationally, was thought to be a major financier for the league;[178][179] JP Morgan dismissed the claims to The Daily Telegraph, and stated it was "sole financing the deal.

[182] After the English clubs withdrew on 21 April, the Super League stated: "Given the current circumstances, we shall reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project, always having in mind our goals of offering fans the best experience possible while enhancing solidarity payments for the entire football community.

Whilst blaming the English clubs for losing their nerve in the face of opposition and the footballing authorities for acting unjustifiably aggressively,[188] Pérez insisted that the Super League project was merely on standby and not over.

Arsenal's board of directors wrote an open letter to fans stating to had made a mistake, apologised for it, and hoped to regain trust whilst assuring them of their commitment to rebuild the club.

[193] In an open letter from the owner Roman Abramovich and the board addressed to its fans, Chelsea wrote they "deeply regret" the decision to join the Super League but condemned the abuse received by club officials.

[195] Liverpool owner John W. Henry apologised to the fans, players, and coach Jürgen Klopp "for the disruption" caused by the club's decision to join the Super League.

"[185] In May 2021, Tottenham Hotspur released a statement saying that the project was put together in secret due to legal constraints in place, and it was merely a "framework agreement" that through dialogue with the FA, the Premier League, UEFA, FIFA, and the fans would have evolved into "something workable."

[202] Whilst the opposition from fans in Spain remained subdued,[170] the supporters of the Premier League clubs, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur, called on their owners to divest their investments.

[197] A few observers, such as Emlyon Business School professor of Eurasian Sport Simon Chadwick, deemed fan opposition of their respective clubs, which acted in self-preservation and with intentions to grow their investments, as naïve, simplistic, and misplaced.

[212] Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional president Javier Tebas said "I think that "the current ecosystem in Europe has worked," adding, on the other hand, that he agrees with the Super League on "some aspects such as the governance [of competitions and clubs].

[217][218][219] UEFA stipulated that these clubs must sell their Super League shares, donate €15 million to grassroots football, and sign a Commitment Declaration, facing hefty fines for future violations.

Disciplinary proceedings were initiated against Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid for their ongoing involvement in the Super League, but were stayed due to rulings from Spanish and Swiss courts.

[226] Moreover, a decision of the 17th commercial court in Madrid, which was made public on 1 July, ruled out the possibility of sanctions from UEFA and FIFA for the clubs involved in the project, given the antitrust issues which may occur were any punitive measures to be taken by the instances.

[210] Paul Widdop, a senior lecturer in sports business at Manchester Metropolitan University, criticised the move, stating that while the incumbent government pursues a neo-liberalist agenda with every other industry, it seeks socialist reform only in football.

[250] On 19 October 2022, A22 Sports Management, the Spain-based company that "sponsor[s]" and "assist[s]" in "the creation of the European Super League,"[251] appointed as chief executive officer Bernd Reichart, formerly the CEO of German broadcaster RTL.

[259] The manifesto was met with criticism from the ECA, La Liga president Tebas, and others, with the chief executive of the Football Supporters' Association stating "the walking corpse that is the European Super League twitches again.

"[260][261] Two weeks after the manifesto was made public, on 23 February, the UK government announced that an "independent regulator" would be appointed, as was recommended by a 2022 fan-led review, whose mandate would be to "protect English football's cultural heritage."

Among the regulator's explicit tasks shall be to stop "English clubs from joining closed-shop competitions, which are judged to harm the domestic game," in a clear reference to the European Super League.