BEVERLY HILLS, March 03, (THEWILL) – In a twist of requirements to keep with the times and circumstances, Spanish football big wigs Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have had their salary caps slashed by La Liga, while Real Madrid have been permitted to increase theirs.
These actions became necessary in the wake of a review of the budgets of all 20 clubs in the division. La Liga sides had factored in the return of some spectators for the second half of the season, but with fans still barred, adjustments have had to be made to the existing budgets so that the clubs remain financially buoyant.
Based on the review, Barcelona’s outgoings on wages will now be capped at £300m down from the previous limit of £331m. The same axe hit Atletico whose budget was also reduced from £218m to £188m for outgoings.
However, there were some budgets that were reviewed upwards apart from the hamstringing suffered by Barca and Atletico. But, only two of the 20 clubs in the top flight got this increase from La Liga: 20th-placed Aragon-based Huesca and defending champions Real Madrid.
La Liga permitted Zinedine Zidane’s Los Blancos to spend an extra £4m, by giving them a total cap of £409m after the review. This gives Real an advantage over their rivals in economic terms but the La Liga table does not bear this out currently. Diego Simeone’s side stay top of the standings, ahead of the Spanish pair of Real and Barca with a game in hand.
To clear the air about the difference in review decisions, La Liga president Javier Tebas considered it necessary to explain the salary adjustments. The President revealed that overall, only about £100m was slashed off club playing budgets.
In his words: “COVID-19 put Spanish football to a test. We have seen that there is an end and we can get to the conclusion of this.
“So far we have had to deal with income down by £1.73bn but the clubs, especially the big ones, have been able to endure the crisis knowing how to reduce expenses. Spanish football is solvent.”
According to Tebas, the likelihood exists that these restrictions will be loosened next season: “Next season, with fans back, the income will come and so the salary cap for next season, possibly, will be higher.”
He did not miss the opportunity to rope in Manchester City for perceived unfair competitive practices even if it was unrelated to his clarification.
“City received a significant ban and CAS lifted it. Uefa made an effort, it went to CAS and then nothing happened. So CAS needs to be reviewed and investigated to see what they’re actually doing,” he said.
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.
