Juventus has initiated the procedure to pull out of the European Super League (ESL) project, the Italian club said Thursday.

Juventus said they had started a discussion on their exit with Real Madrid and Barcelona, the other clubs remaining in the project.

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"Following such discussions, and given the existing discrepancies on the interpretation of the relevant contractual terms applicable to the Super League Project, Juventus confirms that it has initiated the procedure to exit," the Serie A club said.

Juventus said their exit would be completed and effective only if authorised by Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Former Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli, one of the figures behind the ESL project, was given a 16-month ban from soccer Monday in a case about irregularities in the club's payments to players.

Agnelli and the entire board resigned from the Turin club in November.

The breakaway Super League was formed in April 2021, when 12 of Europe's top football clubs launched a bid to wrest control of the game and its lucrative revenue away from European soccer governing body UEFA.

The move collapsed within 48 hours amid fan and player criticism that forced Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid to pull out.