Nine of the 12 founder members of the short-lived European Super League rejoined the European Club Association (ECA) on Monday, but Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus remain outside the influential group as they continue to back the breakaway project.
The ECA said that Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Inter, along with all six English clubs involved in the breakaway – Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur – had been reinstated after acknowledging that a Super League “was not in the interests of the wider football community”.
The nine clubs initially signed up to the project in April but all backed down within 48 hours in the face of overwhelming opposition from fans, players and organisations.