August 10, (THEWILL) – The Spanish League has not settled from the loss of its most prized talisman Lionel Messi and already its most celebrated club Real Madrid has launched civil and criminal legal actions against the league President, Javier Tebas.
The litigation comes in the wake of the recent lucrative partnership deal of €2.7 billion with private equity firm, CVC Capital Partners, which THEWILL reported the league has entered into but which was subject to the agreement of the clubs in LA Liga’s top division.
The deal, which allowed La Liga to maintain full control of sporting issues and the sale of television rights, gave CVC a 10 percent part of the outlay, including in Spanish women’s football, in return for the investment. THEWILL noted that it was also projected to grow the league’s digital presence, help in investing in the brand and La Liga’s global audience reach in general.
But in a twist of expectations, two of the clubs to gain the most from the cash flow, Real Madrid and Barcelona, rose in objection to the investment deal. They made their objections known based on their stance that none of the clubs were consulted before the deal was made.
Los Blancos put out an initial statement that declared that Real only received “limited access” to the terms and claimed it to be illegal from the scratch. On their own part, Barca’s statement called the 50-year agreement “inappropriate.”
In their most recent statement which contained the confirmation of their recourse to a legal resolution of the grouse against the deal, Real noted that their board of directors has unanimously agreed to open civil and criminal complaints against not only Tebas, but also CVC managing partner Javier de Jaime Guijarro and the CVC fund as a whole.
It is no secret that Real and Barca were severely affected by the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the CVC deal comes only a few short months after they and 10 other clubs signed up to the controversial European Super League that promised hugely lucrative cash injections of its own.
These reasons must have convinced La Liga to enter such a deal believing that cash-strapped big names of the domestic game will jump at the opportunity to make huge decisions possible especially as they had the chance to use the money to strengthen their squads for the upcoming season. But, they would not have seen a court case resulting from it.
In a swift response to the court case statement, La Liga President Tebas tweeted an attack of Los Blancos President, Florentino Perez, as he posted: “The threatening method that [Perez] has been using in private for years is now being transferred to the public.
“Clubs and institutions have been supporting their threats for years. Since 2015 against the centralised sale, the constant challenges of agreements, the Super League. Real Madrid deserves more.”
The fallout from this legal process presents an interesting bit of La Liga stories to follow in a time when there has been no lack of drama from Spain.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
