Spanish soccer teams Barcelona and Real Madrid have joined forces to denounce a proposed multi-billion-dollar investment and revenue-sharing deal between LaLiga and private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. The top Spanish football league announced on Wednesday that CVC would inject €2.7 billion into LaLiga in exchange for 10% of its revenue and a 10% stake in most of its business, with 90% of the injection going to clubs.
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid issued statements on Thursday in which they criticized the league for signing the proposed deal without fully consulting with the 42 teams across Spanish soccer’s top two divisions and refusing to run a competitive bidding process.
“FC Barcelona feels it is inappropriate to sign a half-century agreement given the uncertainties that always surround the football world. The terms of the contract that LaLiga is describing condemn FC Barcelona’s future with regard to broadcasting rights,” the former Lionel Messi’s team said in a statement.
On the other hand, Real Madrid communicated: “This agreement, by way of a misleading structure, expropriates 10.95% of the clubs' audiovisual rights for the next 50 years, in breach of the law. The negotiation was carried out without competitive proceedings and the financial conditions agreed with CVC Capital Partners give them annual returns of over 20%”.
The Spanish football league's executive committee, which includes the bosses of Atlético Madrid and Sevilla but not those of Real Madrid or Barcelona, approved the planned CVC deal on Wednesday, and it will now be put to a vote by all league members from the top two divisions.
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