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A European MP wants the European Commission to investigate the means by which Real Madrid gained the funds to aquire Gareth Bale (Getty Images)
European politician Derk Jan Eppink is not convinced of Real Madrid’s ability to pay the amount of money they did for Gareth Bale, and wants the deal that took Gareth Bale from Tottenham to Real Madrid for €100 million investigated.
According to Spanish newspaper AS, Eppink will ask the European Commission to investigate how Real Madrid gained the means to outlay a world record fee on Gareth Bale.
Eppink believes that the transfer was at least partially funded by nationalised Spanish bank Bankia, which was bailed out by the European Union for €19 billion in recapitalization funds.
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Eppink intends on sending the European Commission a letter outlining the measures he believes need to be taken if Real Madrid have financed the transfer through debt.
The vice-president at List Dedecker Party castigated Real Madrid for their purchase of Gareth Bale for a world record fee of €100 million, when “they have accumulated a debt of some €600 million, financed to a large degree by Caja Madrid”, a savings bank which now forms part of Bankia.
Bankia “was recently rescued by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), requiring an injection of no less than €18 billion and yet now they offer support in the transaction conducted by Real Madrid,” said Eppink.
“European Union funds cannot be used for such unsustainable practices.”
The Dutch journalist plans to send his letter to the European Commissioner for Competition, Joaquín Alumnia, who is currently investigating how EU funds have helped finance other Spanish clubs.
At the start of August, the European Commission announced that it was taking a closer look at the financial situations of Spanish clubs which are not public limited sports companies: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna.
This summer, Real Madrid’s net expenditure stood at £58,960,000 following the sales of Ozil, Higuain, Albiol and Callejon.
