By David Gold
September 23 – The general manager of La Liga outfit Sevilla, Jose Maria Cruz, has warned that unless a new centralised television rights deal is agreed in Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona could end up winning the European Champions League every year.
Talking to insideworldfootball, Cruz said that the status quo could have implications not just for the competitiveness of La Liga, but Europe’s top competition.
“I have been trying to transmit to other European clubs that at the moment we have this problem in Spain, but in the future we will have the problem in Europe,” Cruz explained.
“It is consistent to think that in the future Barcelona and Real will win the Champions League every year as they are the richest teams in the world and they receive a lot of money from television, more than the rest of the European teams in their internal leagues.
“Madrid and Barcelona next year will receive probably €150 million (£131 million/$202 million) and Man Utd or Arsenal will get about €50 million (£44 million/$67 million).
“The only way to compete with Madrid and Barcelona in the future is either a change of the Spanish TV system or to have a chairman like Man City or Chelsea do, who puts a lot of money in.”
And, says Cruz, there is little UEFA can do in practise beyond trying to encourage a collective deal to be reached.
“They don’t want to do nothing – they believe that we need to go to a collective agreement but recognise that they can’t help us.,” he said.
The two clubs have dominated the Spanish top flight for the last two seasons, with both setting new points records in the 2009-10 season when Barcelona won the league with 99 points, and Real three points further behind.
Last year, Barcelona again claimed the title with 96 points, and their Madrid rivals on 92, and in both seasons Valencia finished third, coming 25 and 21 points behind second respectively.
Valencia were the last team aside from either Real or Barcelona to claim the title in 2004, and the prospects of anyone other than the big two winning the Championship in the coming years looks extremely remote.
During the last week Barcelona, and then Real, published what were record revenue figures, and their financial dominance underpins their control of the Spanish game.
That the duo can bring in such sizeable revenues is largely thanks to the fact that in Spain, clubs negotiate television rights deals individually, rather than collectively, as is the case in the other main leagues in Europe.
Barcelona and Real Madrid each earn approximately €120 million (£105 million/$162 million) to €140 million (£122 million/$189 million) each season from television revenues, double what Premier League champions Manchester United take, though the total figures earned by English sides collectively are far greater than in Spain.
Barcelona and Real’s takings represent some 45 per cent of La Liga’s overall television income, with Valencia bringing in closer to €42 million (£37 million/$57 million)), which is barely more than Blackpool took last season when relegated from the Premier League.
For those teams finishing lower down in the division, such as Getafe, they can hope to take just €25 million (£22 million/$34 million) a year from their television deals, entrenching the financial inequality.
The situation has led many to criticise the league, with Sevilla’s President, Jose Maria del Nido, telling Radio Nacional de Espana earlier this season that “our tournament is not just the biggest joke in Europe, but in the world.
It is a view which was echoed by Villarreal President Fernando Roig after his side, who finished fourth last season, were beaten 5-0 by Barcelona on the opening day of the season.
“I give it three to four years,” he said.
“Either this changes or we kill Spanish football.”
Cruz (pictured) echoed fears that no other side will have a chance of competing in the coming years without a change.
“The problem is that with the distribution of TV income in recent years they have the possibility to invest in the top players and to invest in their stadiums and the best young players in Spain,” said Cruz.
“If we don’t avoid the continuity of this it will be in the next years impossible for any other team to win the league or cup.”
Ironically, Sevilla’s local rival, Real Betis – promoted from the Segunda Liga last year and who are in administration – are top of La Liga after four games with a 100 per cent record, ahead of Valencia and Malaga.
Sevilla are now leading an attempt to renegotiate a centralised deal after an agreement was reached between the majority of teams in the top two divisions last season.
Barcelona and Real Madrid agreed an arrangement which would see the individual sale of rights continue, and in which they would give more of their income to the rest of the teams in the top two divisions.
It would mean that their share of television revenue drops from 45 per cent to 34 per cent, with Atlético Madrid and Valencia taking a further 11 per cent, and the remaining sixteen teams in La Liga the final 55 per cent between them.
This won support as the majority of teams gained, given that it would enable Atlético and Valencia to have a financial advantage over competitors for the final two Champions League spots, though it would further limit their chances of finishing ahead of Barcelona or Real, as well as increasing slightly the revenues of most of the teams whose hope each season is merely survival.
But there are a few teams, such as Sevilla and Villarreal, who are strong competitors for Champions League places, and would be the losers under this arrangement, and therefore the Seville side have recently led a revolt against the deal, calling a meeting last week which was attended by twelve La Liga sides, and to which Barcelona and Real were not invited.
Not just an exercise in self preservation though, Cruz says that a new deal is genuinely in the interests of the rest of the league.
“Except for Barcelona and Real all the first and second division teams prefer to have a centralisation and collective sale of rights,” he said.
“The problem is that except for three or four clubs the rest seem to feel it is very difficult to change to status quo and that it is not possible to enlist the help of La Liga or to convince Real or Barcelona to change their position.
“They prefer a bad agreement, the one they signed, because they believe it is not possible to get more.
“At the end of the day in order to have money from the broadcasters it is necessary that the people pay to watch football and if every day the scores of Madrid or Barcelona are 8-0 or 6-0 no one will want to see these kind of matches.
“It is not true that in the future having Barcelona and Madrid stronger every year we as a collective will gain more money.
“The competition will be worse and the interest of supporters paying will be less and then there will be less in the end to distribute between the clubs.”
Contact the writer of this story at zib.l1734850190labto1734850190ofdlr1734850190owedi1734850190sni@d1734850190log.d1734850190ivad1734850190
Related stories
September 2011: Real Madrid submit record-breaking turnover
September 2011: La Liga makeweights try to reform Spanish TV deal
August 2011: Strike action by players hits La Liga fixtures