FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, Spain’s two biggest teams, will no longer enjoy the monopoly over the television money after a new agreement over broadcasting rights by all the La Liga clubs was agreed on Thursday.
The Los Blancos and Blaugrana used to negotiate their own agreements for the broadcasting rights of their matches earlier, giving them an upper hand on other La Liga clubs. But now, the Spanish government has given a permission to the administration of La Liga to sign a new deal.
In the earlier individual deals of them, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid were earning around 150 million euros a year, giving them a substantial advantage in terms of money over all other La Liga clubs. However, the new deal, based on the model used by Serie A and Premier League Clubs, will distribute the money throughout the top flight clubs.
As per the new deal, 50 per cent of the money will be distributed equally amongst all 20 La Liga teams, with remaining 50 per cent determined by the other criteria, like league position of past five years and ability to generate funds etc.
FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are expected to earn more than the rest of La Liga clubs, including Atletico Madrid and Valencia, but only because they are the most popular clubs in the world at the moment. The biggest beneficiaries of this new deal are going to be the small La Liga clubs as they are going to get a fix source of income, which will help them keep hold of their talented youngsters.
“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.
Javier Tebas, president of governing body LFP, also expressed his satisfaction with the new deal. He 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.”