December 6 – Controversial Spanish league boss Javier Tebas is back in power after being re-elected for a fourth term.
Tebas’ resignation last month was a tactical move to facilitate his re-election. His previous mandate was due to expire on December 23 – two days after the European Court of Justice is expected to reach a final verdict on the validity of the European Super League.
Tebas has been responsible for a major overhaul of the Spanish league’s commercial activities including centralising broadcast rights sales as well as more recently bringing in more than $1 billion in private investment as he has sought to increase the professionalism and commercial sustainability of his clubs.
That hasn’t made him universally popular in Spain where he has often been at odds with the Spanish federation (RFEF) and the financial ambitions of the country’s two dominant clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
He has also been extremely vocal internationally, taking on state-sponsored clubs like Paris St Germain and Manchester City who he accuses of “financial doping” and claims are distorting the competitive balance of football.
Tebas has been president of LaLiga since 2013 and was the only candidate running for the position which might come as something of a surprise given his number of critics. The league said he will be officially confirmed as president on December 14.
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