February 2 – LaLiga Group International formally came into operation yesterday with a further a financial injection of €298 million into the entity by CVC, of which £220 million will be distributed to clubs.
While LaLiga and CVC have forged ahead with the new start-up company to manage LaLiga’s commercial business and in which CVC has paid €1.994bn for an 8.4% stake, a Madrid court has cast a potential warning cloud over the venture.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Club have issued a legal challenge to the CVC investment and the LaLiga Impulso project claiming it will cause “irreversible damage” to Spanish football. A Madrid commercial court has accepted the case but stopped short of hearing the case on an emergency basis, instead scheduling a hearing for February 24.
Meanwhile the LaLiga and CVC are pressing ahead taking the second cash injection on top of the €400 million already received in mid-January – in total 35% of the €1.994 billion agreed.
The investment schedule will see the first €1 billion of investment received by July 2022, with the remaining capital due across 2023 and 2024. LaLiga said the money will accelerate its clubs’ modernisation strategies by 20 years.
LaLiga said it has completed the transfer of “its business areas to the new LaLiga Group International holding company.”
Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, said: “This agreement, a first for professional sports in our country, will provide LaLiga clubs with the necessary boost to fast forward 20 years in terms of professionalisation and development.”
While the Madrid court could still prove to be a problem for the venture, earlier this month the European Union competition regulators greenlighted the project enabling the first release of money to clubs.
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