Javier Tebaspresident of LaLigaspoke at the New Economy Forum, talking about Barcelona: “The economic situation of the club – we read in the Sports World – It’s very exaggerated. It’s better than two years ago and it will be better in two years. There is no way out, anyone who says otherwise wants to discredit LaLiga. Even the Fair Play professionals say there is no way out… There are rules that apply to everyone, complicated to understand, but they are for everyone”.
What can you tell us about the Negreira case?
“I believe there is no fraud. We work hard, they monitor the matches, the bets… In our category there is no fraud. I have always said the same thing about the Negreira case, but some want to forget it. We at LaLiga were the first to report it to the Prosecutor’s Office, it is the most important thing for image cleansing, just like we did with the fraud in 2012 and 2013, there are presidents who ended up in jail. We put our sweat to put an end to that plague by appearing in court, today we know what is happening. There is no proof that the referees were paid, we have to say it, there is no purchase of referees. If there had been a payment to the referees to influence the list of promotions and relegations it would be sporting corruption”.
Regarding Ter Stegen’s injury, what can you tell us about Barcelona’s market performance?
“He will be able to sign a player, whether he is a goalkeeper or not.”
Are you afraid of a footballers’ strike?
“It could be real. The unions and leagues are quite united. We cannot continue with new competitions as is happening. They endanger the health of some players and the ecosystem of the vast majority of players. The risk is latent, close and it is even more so with the creation of competitions, without thinking about what is happening with the effects of the football industry. This situation creates differences in the national leagues between those who earn more and those who earn less and competitive differences that gradually lead to the economic death of the national football leagues.”
How do you think football will evolve?
“The revenues will move from the national competitions to these super competitions, they will go to a series of clubs that will provide them to their players; the industry will have fewer jobs and the small and medium-sized clubs will lose money. With the recent Champions League format we are already seeing that in some countries the TV rights of the championship are losing money. In Spain they have been maintained, but these super competition formats are harmful to our industry. With UEFA and FIFA they do not agree on certain things, they set the calendar, they call you, they ask you and you say you do not agree and they say: ‘Okay, see you later’. The ruling says that in this monopoly position they must come to an agreement with the other football players”.