September 1 – Spanish second division club Real Oviedo have belatedly opted in favour of La Liga’s €2.1 billion agreement with private equity firm CVC.
On the eve of the new Spanish season, Oviedo, alongside Spanish giants Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, had voted against the deal that will see CVC inject fresh cash into the professional game in exchange for a 10% stake in the commercial rights. The club argued that the idea was “rushed, both in terms of the money of the structure and the share of the money”.
With the quartet opting out the value of the deal dropped from €2.7 billion to €2.1 billion, but Oviedo have made a u-turn after closer inspection of the agreement.
“The proposed share of the money would see all affiliated clubs receive, immediately, an economic injection which will allow them to increase the cost of their footballing squad,” said the club in a statement.
“This increase is vital for Real Oviedo if it wishes to fulfil its footballing strategy and give the club a more competitive team, which would allow us to get better results, which is something which we all want to do.
“It is a financial injection which would be impossible to achieve during this financial year through the club’s primary sources of income (sponsorships, season tickets, share campaigns).”
At La Liga’s general assembly, CEO Javier Tebas described the partnership as both “historic and exceptional”, but he denied that the fresh cash served as a lifeline for an industry ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, but that didn’t prevent Real Madrid and Barcelona from heavily criticising and attacking the deal. Bilbao, meanwhile, said that “a 50-year strategic project should not be a prisoner of emergencies”.
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