By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
January 14 – Deportivo La Coruna, who won the league title only 13 years ago, have become the latest Spanish top-flight club to be plunged into financial crisis.
To avoid going out of business, the Galician club, champions in 2000, have announced they are filing for bankruptcy protection as the economic recession in Spain continues to bite.
Deportivo say they have submitted documents to the courts requesting to re-negotiate outstanding debts. It makes them the eighth Primera Division club to either be under bankruptcy protection or still be paying off restructured debts.
Late last year, Deportivo was said to owe around €34 million to the tax authorities, with total debts sitting at above €100 million.
The club won promotion back to the top flight at the end of last season but are in danger of a quick return to the second division.
Whilst the leading Spanish clubs are still the envy of their rivals on the field, off it their cash-flow problems and debts have proved a massive burden and an increasing embarrassment.
A big issue for clubs has been the distribution of TV revenues. Whereas most leagues in Europe share TV revenue deals, in Spain clubs individually negotiate their domestic deals, with the top clubs – and Barcelona and Real Madrid in particular – taking the lion’s share of the revenue.
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