New laws under negotiations by the Spanish government could see the TV revenues of Barcelona and Real Madrid slashed, which could eventually lead to a much sought after parity when it comes to deals for all the clubs in La Liga.
The debate about the massive advantage that Barcelona and Real Madrid gain through their hugely favourable TV deals, around €150 million each per season, has been rumbling on for a number of years. Not only has it been a cause for argument amongst all the other teams in La Liga, who have met regularly to discuss possible options, but also continentally with Europe’s other big clubs falling well into the shadow of the “big two” when it comes to their own TV revenue deals.
According to financial news portal Bloomberg, the Spanish government are taking further and more serious steps with proposed statutes in the new Sports Law, that would place a ceiling on the maximum revenue that Barcelona and Real Madrid can achieve, thus bringing about a more even share of TV revenue which would be more evenly distributed amongst all the clubs competing in La Liga.
LFP president Javier Tebas responded to enquiries by Bloomberg into the situation by noting that currently, Barcelona and Real Madrid earn roughly 6.5 times the TV revenue of the smallest clubs in La Liga, whilst explaining that under the proposed new Sports Law, that would be capped to a maximum of 4 times the amount.
The “Holy Grail” sought by the rest of the clubs has often been to reach an agreement that mirrors the TV revenue distribution of the English Premier League or the German Bundesliga, but little progress has ever been made in negotiations over recent years and on the majority of occasions that the 18 “other” clubs have met, no representatives of either Barcelona or Real Madrid have been invited.
The hugely disproportionate TV revenue received by Barcelona and Real Madrid has also propelled them to being the richest clubs in world football, something that the other top sides in Europe are far from content with.
With around €150 million each from their current TV deals with MediaPro, Barcelona and Real Madrid earn roughly three times that of the nearest in the revenue stakes in La Liga, Atlético Madrid, who despite that disadvantage are proving to be genuine title challengers this season.
Although government intervention with laws to place a ceiling on the revenue that these two clubs can earn, will be no doubt greeted wholeheartedly by all the other clubs, neither Barcelona or Real Madrid will view such moves favourably at all.
This isn’t the first time the debate has reared its head on a political level. Similar moves by the Spanish government at the time in 2009 and 2010 went nowhere, largely due to threats by Barcelona and Real Madrid about leaving to form a European ‘Super League’, that was also being theoretically bandied around at the time.
Just as previously, the net aim being promoted by the Spanish government is that the LFP, La Liga and all the teams competing, should change their TV rights model to a global agreement amongst all the clubs, such as is the case elsewhere. One of the key reasons this is being prompted now, is not only a matter of trying to establish a more level playing field in a competitive and sporting sense, but also due to the massive debts that the majority of clubs are carrying, much of which is owed to the Spanish treasury in tax and national insurance contributions.
The debate about the massive advantage that Barcelona and Real Madrid gain through their hugely favourable TV deals, around €150 million each per season, has been rumbling on for a number of years. Not only has it been a cause for argument amongst all the other teams in La Liga, who have met regularly to discuss possible options, but also continentally with Europe’s other big clubs falling well into the shadow of the “big two” when it comes to their own TV revenue deals.
According to financial news portal Bloomberg, the Spanish government are taking further and more serious steps with proposed statutes in the new Sports Law, that would place a ceiling on the maximum revenue that Barcelona and Real Madrid can achieve, thus bringing about a more even share of TV revenue which would be more evenly distributed amongst all the clubs competing in La Liga.
LFP president Javier Tebas responded to enquiries by Bloomberg into the situation by noting that currently, Barcelona and Real Madrid earn roughly 6.5 times the TV revenue of the smallest clubs in La Liga, whilst explaining that under the proposed new Sports Law, that would be capped to a maximum of 4 times the amount.
The “Holy Grail” sought by the rest of the clubs has often been to reach an agreement that mirrors the TV revenue distribution of the English Premier League or the German Bundesliga, but little progress has ever been made in negotiations over recent years and on the majority of occasions that the 18 “other” clubs have met, no representatives of either Barcelona or Real Madrid have been invited.
The hugely disproportionate TV revenue received by Barcelona and Real Madrid has also propelled them to being the richest clubs in world football, something that the other top sides in Europe are far from content with.
With around €150 million each from their current TV deals with MediaPro, Barcelona and Real Madrid earn roughly three times that of the nearest in the revenue stakes in La Liga, Atlético Madrid, who despite that disadvantage are proving to be genuine title challengers this season.
Although government intervention with laws to place a ceiling on the revenue that these two clubs can earn, will be no doubt greeted wholeheartedly by all the other clubs, neither Barcelona or Real Madrid will view such moves favourably at all.
This isn’t the first time the debate has reared its head on a political level. Similar moves by the Spanish government at the time in 2009 and 2010 went nowhere, largely due to threats by Barcelona and Real Madrid about leaving to form a European ‘Super League’, that was also being theoretically bandied around at the time.
Just as previously, the net aim being promoted by the Spanish government is that the LFP, La Liga and all the teams competing, should change their TV rights model to a global agreement amongst all the clubs, such as is the case elsewhere. One of the key reasons this is being prompted now, is not only a matter of trying to establish a more level playing field in a competitive and sporting sense, but also due to the massive debts that the majority of clubs are carrying, much of which is owed to the Spanish treasury in tax and national insurance contributions.
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