With La Liga now back on an even keel after the recent players' strike, it appears that one chairman could rock the proverbial boat once again after the LFP revealed the distribution of television rights money for the forthcoming season.
Sevilla President Jose Maria Del Nido is due to hold a meeting this week with presidents from a number of different Primera Division clubs regarding what he calls the "unfair distribution of television rights". Indeed, the funds allocated to La Liga clubs seems to be heavily weighted towards both Real Madrid and Barcelona with the two giants receiving a sizeable sum each.
While Del Nido was keen to stress that strike action is not at the forefront of his thinking, one suspects that the issue will drag on into the season. One thing that is for certain is that the way the finances have been distributed resembles the way clubs in Scotland are treated in the shadow of the Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers.
"We are in a league that is not competitive", Del Nido said. "There are two clubs who are left with the money from the rest." The problem seems to be at the core of a vicious circle that will be impossible to break if it goes too far. Real and Barcelona are the two biggest teams in Spain and therefore attract sizeable national and international audiences. Therefore it makes financial sense for television companies to show both clubs on a regular basis: a simple example of supplying to public demand.
This story could either quietly go away or could cause another rift in the Spanish game. While clubs like Sevilla will never see a downturn in fortunes like most clubs in the SPL, it seems that the never-ending worldwide appeal of the Clasico clubs will doom the rest of La Liga to forever play second-fiddle to both Real and Barcelona.
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