A surprising personnel decision at Real Madrid: Following the collapse of the Super League, Bernd Reichart, the German manager of the controversial project, is joining the Spanish record champions.

The former chief executive of sports project developer A22 will take on the position of board member for operational management at the Spanish record champions, according to dpa. The newspapers AS and Marca had previously reported on this.

Reichart had once driven efforts to create a rival competition to the UEFA Champions League as the public face of the project. Five years ago, the push for the Super League, which aimed to operate in a closed system without sporting qualification, caused enormous upheaval.

However, following angry fan protests, several English clubs quickly withdrew.

Super League saga ended in spring

Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus Turin launched a new attempt for the Super League in October 2022. After ongoing disputes with UEFA, Real Madrid remained as the last supporter by the start of the year.

In February, the continental governing body and the Spanish club settled their dispute following an executive committee meeting in Brussels, putting an end to the Super League once and for all.

A statement indicated that a "basic agreement for the benefit of European club football" was reached. This was intended to "serve to settle the legal disputes related to the European Super League once these principles are implemented and applied," as stated at the time.

Sporting decline at Real Madrid

Real Madrid is considered the world's greatest football club, even though the trophy collection of the Spanish side hasn't grown significantly in recent times. In the league, Barcelona with Kylian Mbappé and others have overtaken Real Madrid, while Paris Saint-Germain proved too strong in the UEFA Champions League over the past two years.

For this reason, star manager José Mourinho was brought back in the summer. However, the team is still struggling even under "The Special One."