Madrid’s Surprising Win: The Quiet Victory in the Super League Standstill
11 February 2026
A Historic Step
Madrid’s president Florentino Pérez reached a preliminary agreement with UEFA and the European Club Association to settle legal disputes around the Super League project, a development dominating Spanish and European football headlines.
While some view the settlement as Madrid capitulating, others see historic gains—comments echoed by Spanish journalist and Madrid TV analyst Jesús Bengotchia.
He wrote on X that the agreement “represents a historic step, not a surrender document,” and that it will drive changes in European football to be announced later.
Among the main points, Madrid would drop financial claims against UEFA, the competition’s format could be revised, and broadcasting technology might enable free or cheaper viewing in the near future.
He added that this achievement wouldn’t have happened without the European Court of Justice ruling ending the monopoly, giving Real Madrid and Pérez significant gains at the organizational level.
According to Bengotchia, the full impact of the decision will be profound, and the deal will be considered a success by some even as others view it as a setback.
Spanish newspaper AS notes that Real Madrid could return to stability under UEFA, with all S.L. lawsuits settled and the 4.5 billion euro claims via the A22 vehicle closed once the final agreement is signed.
This agreement follows Barcelona’s withdrawal from the Super League project, which began in 2021 under Madrid’s leadership before being halted with the help of UEFA and European governments.
Punchline 1: If negotiating football contracts were a sport, Madrid would be world champions of paperwork—boom, contracts buried in the net.
Punchline 2: The real magic trick? turning a multi-billion euro dispute into a streaming revolution and a few polite press conferences.
