REAL MADRID AND Barcelona will no longer monopolise the television money in Spain after a new deal was announced last night.
Spain’s two biggest clubs have negotiated their own agreements for the sale of broadcasting rights in recent years, giving them a huge advantage over the rest of the teams in La Liga, but that trend will now end after the Spanish government gave the green light for a new deal to be brought in.
Barca and Madrid (who were receiving €150 million per year – three times the amount earned by other clubs in the Primera Division) will no longer be able to sell television rights individually, with a new centralised system spreading the wealth throughout the top flight.
The new deal sees 50 per cent of the share distributed equally between all 20 Liga teams, with the other 50 per cent determined by other criteria, such as league position in the previous five seasons, capacity to generate funds through broadcasting and social relevance.
It means Madrid and Barca will continue to earn more than the rest, but only because they are the two biggest, most popular and most successful sides in the country — and the new agreement is the fair deal other clubs in Spain have been calling for over the last few years.
“This Royal Decree aims to end the enormous imbalance of income,” Spain’s Culture and Sports Minister Jose Ignacio Wert said after the agreement was announced on Thursday.
And Miguel Cardenal, Secretary of State for Sport, added in a statement: “It was necessary. This way, Spain won’t lose ground on the other great leagues. It’s a historic day for Spanish football.”
Finally, LFP president Javier Tebas said: “A new league is born. This was necessary for the development and growth of our sector. A new story begins for Spanish professional football.”
