On this week’s episode of La Previa, host Asli Pelit interviewed LaLiga President Javier Tebas in Tarragona, Spain, where the league held a meeting to discuss the progress of LaLiga Impulso (LaLiga Boost), the $2.2 billion investment project it signed with the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners in 2021.
The project aims to use the investment to increase the global growth and outreach of LaLiga and its clubs. However, not every team accepted investment money; league heavyweights FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF abstained from the deal.
CVC Capital Partners, which is based in Luxembourg, allocated the first installment of the investment ($400 million) last January. A year after this cash injection, Tebas said clubs from first and second division of the league have been working to achieve their short-term goals. “In this first step we are asking clubs to focus on infrastructure, digitalization and internationalization,” Tebas said. “These take time. And in the long run, these strategies will bring our clubs higher revenues.”
Pelit and Tebas also discussed the proposal for a Super League project that surfaced last Thursday. Bernd Reichart—the new CEO of A22 Management Sports, the sports development company behind the Super League project—revealed a proposal for a new multi-divisional 80-team tournament, which drew criticism from LaLiga.
“The Super League is like the wolf that disguises as a lamb,” Tebas said. “And if they form this league, we will lose 50% of our broadcast revenues and sponsorships in the short term.”
Tebas said even if they launched such league, it would not survive in the mid-term either because “fans do not only want to see the big clubs play against each other.”
The two also discuss the details of the future of broadcast rights and OTT platforms and financial fair play rules.
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