Spanish football has seen tremendous growth in popularity throughout the world in the last decade and that can be attributed to the rise of Barcelona and Real Madrid as brands. Although the Premier League is the most watched football competition in the world, La Liga’s stock has swiftly risen in recent times.The presence of stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Gareth Bale, Neymar Jr., Andres Iniesta and Luka Modric among others has increased La Liga’s global outreach.
Sensing the opportunities and potential for growth, La Liga has decided to widen its global outreach and the latest step was taken when they announced the opening of an office in India. Javier Tebas, the President of La Liga, was present in the national capital for the event and in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, he spoke about the Real Madrid-Barcelona duopoly, corruption in football and his salary. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:
Real Madrid and Barcelona are the strongest teams in La Liga by quite some distance and that is indicated by the fact that only thrice in the last 16 years have other teams (Valencia and Atletico Madrid) won the title. Don’t you think it is a bit too predictable?
Well, three years ago, the league winner was one out of only Real Madrid and Barcelona. But if you look at it now, there are three contenders with Atletico Madrid also being present.
I am sure that one or two more clubs are going to become genuine contenders in coming years. Also, the league is much more competitive now as you will see Real Madrid and Barcelona lose more matches than they used to a few years ago.
Apart from the gap on the field, there is a tremendous economic gap between Real Madrid and Barcelona, and the others in terms of economics. These two clubs spend colossal sums of money and the only other club that comes close is Atletico. The financial power puts those two above others, making it difficult for them to perform at the same level. Is there any plan to bridge that gap for more parity?
Yes, there is a plan. However, it is important to establish first that Real Madrid and Barcelona are probably the two biggest clubs in the world and the incomes they generate are really high. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona are big brands and we cannot take away the incomes generated by them.
The other clubs are slowly but surely moving up the ladder in terms of the income earned and we have made changes in the division of television rights. This change favours the cause of the smaller clubs and that is nothing but good news. If you look closely, you will find that there are teams that have spent more than Real Madrid in the recent summer transfer window.
La Liga matches kicking off early with respect to Indian Standard Time is great news for fans across the country. However, are clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla happy with this change and do they approve of playing matches as early as 1:00 PM local time or do they prefer evening games?
It is possible that they might favour playing matches in the evenings but because they have a wider outreach in terms of fanbase, the clubs are happy with day timings as well. Clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid also know that they have fans all over the world and the only way to maximise viewership is to play in time periods that enables the maximum number of fans to watch them.
More: La Liga to kick off at 4:30 PM IST, announces President Javier Tebas
Is it possible that this sudden change in schedule and the switch from night to day is going to have an effect on the performances of players?
No, I have read several medical reports, which suggest that the earlier you play, the better the players will be able to perform.
The Premier League generates a significant chunk of its revenue from television broadcasting rights, which makes it one of the most-watched sporting leagues in the world. Does La Liga have any plans to increase its revenue through television rights?
Look, there are two types of markets from which a league can generate broadcasting revenue – domestic and international. Domestically, La Liga is working hard to increase the number of subscribers because we are way behind the Premier League in that particular aspect.
Just to give you a small insight into things, the Premier League, in England, has 15 million subscribers as compared to La Liga’s 5 million in Spain. However, it is only a matter of time before we increase the number of followers.
And as far as the international market is concerned, all our efforts will surely pay dividends.
You stated that the financial condition of La Liga has improved tremendously in the past few years. Could you throw light on the remedial measures taken by the administration to facilitate the same?
La Liga has laid down markers for clubs in terms of their transfer spendings and we have kept a constant check on the spendings. Clubs cannot spend more than their maximum limit in terms of the guidelines set by the league administration.
Each club can spend in salaries with respect to the income it generates and nothing more. The idea is to direct clubs in such a way that their spendings do not result in debts.
Santander is your new chief sponsor. Was it a conscious decision to partner with a powerful financial institution? Describe the reasons behind choosing the Santander bank as a partner.
We had multiple offers including better ones but we decided to go with Santander due to its international reputation and recognition. Santander has been present in the sporting arena for a long time and are associated with big brands like Ferrari and Copa Libertadores. They have millions of clients across the world and Santander, in my opinion, will help us to grow as a brand tremendously.
Recently there were reports of a European Super League being formed in which clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona could participate. Your thoughts on the same?
These baseless reports have been coming in for several years now. Nothing like this is going to happen.
One thing that is not baseless is Catalonia’s movement for independence from Spain. Should Catalonia get independence from Spain, Barcelona will be out of La Liga. Do you have any contingency plans?
It is not possible for Catalonia to get independence from Spain and therefore we do not have any planning for the exit of Barcelona from La Liga.
You are a lawyer by profession, which is a good thing because corruption is rampant in football. What are the measures taken by you to prevent corruption in Spanish football?
The system we have in place is similar to any multi-national corporation or private enterprise present on the stock exchange of New York. These systems are based on principles of providing transparency of information.
You can yourself go on the Internet and check out the financial information and economic data related to La Liga including contracts details and even my salary (laughs).
How much is that anyway?
(Laughs again) I earn €450,000 annually plus bonuses decided by the clubs.
