Madrid & Barcelona must ‘work harder’ to keep superstar signings rolling in
KEIR RADNEDGE at THE DEAD SEA: Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona will need to work even harder generating cash if they are to continue corralling the world’s finest players.
That warning was issued by a Spanish league marketing specialist at the Soccerex Asian Forum in the wake of ratification of a law enforcing the centralised sale of La Liga’s television rights.
At the moment Madrid and Barcelona’s share of the Spanish TV rights market outpaces the other clubs by a ratio of 7:1. This will be cut back drastically over a short transition period to 4.5:1 and then on down.
The law, which received royal assent last Thursday and will come into effect in 2016, was introduced because all of the clubs wanted the level playing field to be legally enforced.
Commercial and TV rights for the Liga Nacional de Futbol Professional (LFP) are contracted to Mediopro whose Middle East & Asia vice-president, Mario Bayarri, set out the prospects for a new financial future during Soccerex at Jordan’s King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre on the banks of the Dead Sea.
Sponsor attraction
Bayarri suggested that centralised selling could increase the overall TV revenues dramatically but the Clasico rivals would need to strive ever more earnestly to maintain their own current revenues.
He said: “They will have to work harder. Today Barcelona and Real Madrid are getting more money from their sponsorships than from TV rights – and they are top of the TV rights.
“What’s important is that all the clubs have a good platform to attract sponsors.”
Bayarri said that the other clubs owed a debt of gratitude to Barcelona and Madrid because “of the willingness of these two clubs to embrace today’s reality.”
The new law will bring Spain into line with the system in the English Premier League and Italy’s Serie A.
Sports Minister Ignacio Wert has estimated that revenues could double from the present €750m-a-year.
Almost half the revenues would be distributed equally between all the clubs, with 25pc being awarded on the basis of league position and a further 25pc on ‘social’ grounds. The terms of the law guarantee that no club should end of receiving less than they do now.
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