Barcelona have expressed their "satisfaction" at the European Court of Justice's decision that FIFA and UEFA were unlawful in their attempts to block clubs from joining the European Super League.
The Blaugrana are one of two clubs who remain committed to the project alongside Real Madrid, who signed up for the ESL alongside 10 other elite European teams in the spring of 2021.
All of the Premier League's Big Six - Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur - also accepted invitations to the breakaway league, as did Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus.
However, within hours of clubs announcing their involvement in the project, nine teams dropped out and issued grovelling apologies to furious supporters, many of whom protested outside stadiums.
Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona were the only three teams still in favour of a European Super League alongside their backers A22 Sports, but the former also announced their intention to exit the plans after being threatened with expulsion from Serie A.
© Reuters
FIFA and UEFA took drastic measures to try to end the project once and for all, including potential exclusions from competitions for involved clubs, but the ECJ has ruled that the superpowers were "abusing a dominant position" and breaking competition law.
The ruling has been hailed as a historic moment for the potential future of the European Super League, and Barcelona have announced their commitment to "opposing the monopoly" of the football world by FIFA and UEFA.
"FC Barcelona wishes to express its satisfaction with the sentence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) assessing the Super League project as proposed by A22 Sports," the La Liga champions said in a statement.
"As one of the clubs driving the Super League project, FC Barcelona feels that the sentence paves the way for a new elite level football competition in Europe by opposing the monopoly over the football world, and wishes to initiate new discussions as to the path that European competitions should take in the future.
"Since it was founded in 1899, FC Barcelona has always been a pioneering club in the world of sport, leading the drive towards more professionalised structures both on a domestic and international scale, with regard to both men's and women's competitions, in a variety of sports and from different social concerns."
© Reuters
In spite of the overwhelming criticism from fans, Barcelona claimed that supporters will be at the "centre" of the ESL project, adding: "Hence, as it has been maintaining in recent years, the club feels that the medium-term sustainability of European football entails the need create a concept along the lines of the Super League proposed by A22.
"A system of competition that will address such issues as fixture overload and the excessive number of games between national teams, that will work towards regulation of financial fair play among participating teams, and that will put local and international players and supporters at the centre. This system must respect the functions and sustainability of domestic competitions and should be a meritocracy that is primarily based on results on the pitch.
"In a year when the club is celebrating its 125th anniversary, Barça wishes to continue to offer its experience and knowledge of different sports to propose solutions for current issues in elite sport.
"That is why it is declaring its support for the Super League promoted by A22 and encourages constructive debate among both domestic and international football bodies, which have now been endorsed by today's sentence by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The foregoing is all subject to a complete reading of the sentence."
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez - a staunch supporter of the Super League - also hailed the ECJ's ruling as a "great day for the history of football".
