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While the big guns of European football have survived the financial storm that has been brewing over the past few months, the clubs that thrive in the lower rungs of European leagues have begun to feel the heat of the same. Big clubs like Barcelona, Manchester United, etc may be reeling under debts totalling to billions of euro’s, but they do have the cushion of bulky media deals, shirt sales and other sources of perennial income to fall back upon. These revenue sources from supporters around the globe might not repay their loans immediately, but have kept them afloat for the while.
In recent times, the woes of Portsmouth and Rangers have been the most widely publicized and have brought the issue of financial mismanagement and lack of monetary strategy to the fore. In a case as recent as this week, Real Oviedo, were a club based in the capital city of the Asturias region of Spain. The region is home to one of Formula One’s greatest modern drivers, who recently returned to the region despite a mighty tussle with the tax authorities.
Even at the lowest rung of the Spanish football pyramid Oviedo are fairly well supported with about 15,000 season ticket holders. The club recently announced a deficit of €2 million that needs to be filled, to keep the club afloat. Oviedo is a club where three of Spain’s top midfielder’s have begun their career: Swansea City’s Michu, Chelsea FC’s Juan Mata and Arsenal‘s Santi Cazorla, have all played at Oviedo at some point in the professional career.
Reportedly, the three Spanish star’s who ply their trade in the Premier League, have teamed up together to buy shares worth € 1.5 million, to bail their boyhood club out of trouble.
“Myself, Mata and Cazorla have all bought shares, but it would be wrong of me to say how much. We just wanted to try and help save the club we all played for. The economy in Spain is very bad and the club needs around €2m to survive. A lot of people have bought shares and hopefully it will be enough by the closing date of November 17. It’s my local club, a club I love, so I hope it will be enough.”, quoted Michu to the Daily Mail in an interview.
Wales-based Swansea were in a similar situation about 10 years ago, when local supporters purchased shares in the club to pull the club away from extinction. The Northern-Spain based club have also issued shares worth a shade under £10 for fans to purchase. All may not seem lost for Oviedo at the moment, with the England based Spanish triad, coming to the club’s rescue.
