January 14 – After one of the most thrilling Supercopa Finals in the history of the competition, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) plans to extend the contract with Saudi Arabia for another five years so that the Super Cup will be held in this country until 2034.
Barcelona’s thrilling 5-2 demolition of the UEFA Champions League winners, and their fiercest rivals, Real Madrid, has whetted the appetite for more big-time football to come to the Arabian Peninsula ahead of the 2034 World Cup to be staged in Saudi Arabia.
RFEF president, Rafael Louzan, revealed this proposal on the eve of the final of the Super Cup in the Saudi city of Jeddah, at an informal reception. This reception was the first Louzan has hosted since his election as head of the federation last December 16.
The current contract signed by disgraced former president Luis Rubiales, was due to expire in 2029, however, with Spain co-hosting the World Cup in 2030, it was logical to keep the partnership and synergy in place.
In his speech at the reception, Louzan defended “going hand in hand” with Saudi Arabia, saying “their successes will be our successes.”
Since 2020, when the tournament was first held in Saudi Arabia, the RFEF receives €40 million annually for this event. With the RFEF keeping half of this amount, the remaining 20 million is divided among the teams, except unequally!
See: Rich get richer as Spanish Super Cup opens with a Barca win
While this situation is great for the El Classico rivals as they seemingly meet in the final every year, there were complaints from Athletic Club and Mallorca, like those of other clubs in previous editions, about the fact that the four participants do not receive the same amount of money. Real and Barca are reported to receive a minimum of €6 million each, with the winner returning to Spain with €8 million. Other clubs receive a far smaller amount.
Louzan has undertaken to open negotiations before next year’s edition to ensure that ‘smaller’ clubs get a bigger share of the income. With Saudi Arabia’s seemingly limitless coffers, that request shouldn’t be that hard to fulfill.
See: Saudi fans harass Mallorca players’ wives leaving King Adbullah Sports City stadium
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1736877534labto1736877534ofdlr1736877534owedi1736877534sni@o1736877534fni1736877534
