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Disgruntled quartet challenge Madrid and Barca

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La Liga clubs look to the Premier League model for inspiration

Fairness in football is an argument that will never go away. This debate comes up whenever a big club gets the rub-of-the-green against lesser opposition, it rears its ugly head after a manager gets away with an act that another is punished for, it also emerges when smaller clubs are exploited financially. A big club often holds all the power when it comes to transfers and, more recently, the division of television rights.

This is what is currently going on in the Spanish league whereby powerhouses Real Madrid and Barcelona earn 34 per cent of income, while second tier clubs Atletico Madrid and Valencia collect 11% and the remaining 55% is split among the remaining 16 top-flight teams. This does not enable a level playing field for the smaller teams in the division. And they’re not happy about it.

Spanish football has enjoyed unprecedented success recently with Barcelona dominating at home and in Europe while their national team claimed their first World Cup in the summer after winning the preceding Euro 2008 tournament. However, the honeymoon period seems to be over.

Villarreal, Espanyol, Sevilla, and Athletic Bilbao are leading a rebellion against the percentage split of television revenue, which sees the big two earn more than a third of the total amount.

But this brings us back to the old adage of equality. Of the €800 million (£714m) that would be earned in total from TV coverage, Real Madrid and Barcelona would be set to collect €130m (£116m), while Valencia and Atletico Madrid have accepted €45m (£40m) per season between them.

An additional 9% would be reserved for teams in the Segunda Division, while the remaining 1% would be used as a parachute payment for the three teams who are relegated from the Primera Division at the end of the season.

The majority of clubs in Spain have succumbed to the of division of television income, however, the recalcitrant quartet of clubs believe that there should be a third level of monies attributed to their clubs to allow them to compete, and more equally distribute the wealth throughout Spanish football.

Bitter rivals Barca and Real do not usually agree on things but find themselves as their only allies in this controversial situation. And their argument is clear: they deserve it. They are the reason people watch La Liga and, it will seem, they’re right.  Of the 23 players nominated for this year’s Ballon D’Or, 12 ply their trade in La Liga and 11 of these players play for either Madrid or Barca.

Both clubs will tell you that they make more money because of their consistent Champions League outings, their merchandising power and by filling their large all-seater stadiums. What is more fundamental than all of that is their stranglehold on the broadcasting rights, which maintains and enhances their riches while concurrently keeping the other clubs on the breadline.

This basic fault in the distribution of television money in Spain, has led to the bipartite domination of the league by Los Blancos and Barca. It is believed that the smaller clubs in Spain support a similar approach of the English Premier League whereby the television riches are divided equally.

Naturally, the remaining clubs in the top flight are in favour of a switch to the communal consultation process seen in the Premier League, instead of negotiating individually which is what the clubs do now. A similar situation in Scotland where Rangers and Celtic dominate television money sees the constant threat of a breakaway league being considered.

Surprise, surprise, bigwigs Barca and Real, who have such a loud voice in the politics of Spanish football, are not interested in changing things at all.

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