Most of the Spanish clubs have successfully weathered the financial crisis brought about by the pandemic due to the systems put in place by LaLiga, feels its president Javier Tebas.
Speaking to a select Indian media, Tebas said the economic controls introduced by La Liga seven years ago was proving effective, allowing the Spanish clubs to deal with falling revenues far better than other big football leagues around the world.
“If we we look at the figures available, the Spanish clubs, excluding the big ones like Barcelona and Real Madrid, owed €300 million before the financial control was put in place. Now, prior to the pandemic, they were earning €300 million,” said Tebas. “The economic control has also meant that the Spanish clubs can handle any new financial crisis like the one the world is facing now."
“This means that the clubs are financially sound and can overcome the situation despite having less revenues. This is something other leagues can learn from. Prior to a season, LaLiga determines how much the clubs can spend on the salaries of the players and the technical staff. We do studies on their spending and the revenues, and hence this has become quite a successful model,” said the LaLiga president.
Not serious
The financial issues plaguing global giant Barcelona is not that serious and the club will be able to manage it, he felt.
“We have been reading about Barcelona’s financial problems, but the situation is not as bad as the headlines say. You need to know that if you have a debt, it needs to be in line with your revenues. I think Barcelona has a billion (Euros) in debt, but they also generate one of the highest revenues in the world. So when the pandemic comes to an end, Barcelona can easily overcome its problems,” Tebas said.