 The general assembly of the
LFP (Professional Football League) gave the go-ahead today to an agreement with
the Spanish tax authorities and other government bodies, meant to solve the
ever-increasing overdue tax bills. First and second division clubs owe an
astounding €673 million in back tax, and the agreement (which enters in to
effect for the 2014-15 season) allows for teams to be thrown out of the league
if they are not up to date with payments. Furthermore, some 35% of the money
due for television rights will be frozen until clubs can prove they do not owe
back tax, and a commission is being set up to study whether a system should be
put in place to approve player transfers, particularly where rights have been
used as guarantees for amounts due to "hacienda". Needless to say, many clubs
are unhappy about the deal! (22.06.12) |
| Spain's Euro 2012 squad stand
to collect a bonus of €300,000 per head if they win the championship again
this year. Unlike other squads though, Del Bosque's players will have to reach
the semi-finals before they see even 20% of that amount, with 40% payable if
they are losing finalists. The 300k is the second highest bonus of all the
teams participating in the tournament, only bettered by their quarter final
opponents France, who are on for a €320,000 payout for finishing
champions, with €100,000 of that already in the "portefeuille" for
reaching the last eight. (22.06.12) |
| Barcelona are claiming back
an amount of almost €17,000 from former club president Joan Laporta. New
president Sandro Rosell refused to pay bills which Laporta had incurred for
security measures installed at his home in neighbouring Sant Cugat after
receiving death threats shortly before his term of office expired. The company
who installed the systems successfully won a court case against the club, but
now they will be taking action themselves to recover the costs from their ex
president. (21.06.12) |
| Villarreal's turnover next
season is expected to be the highest in the second division by far. Club
president Fernando Roig announced that they will be budgeting for a figure of
around €30 million which, although a far cry from last season's €68
million, will be at least 50% higher than their nearest rivals. Income from
television rights will drop dramatically though from last year's €30
million (boosted by playing in the Champions League), and they are only
counting on around €3 million for what they hope will be a short stay away
from the top flight. (17.06.12) |
| Betis are out of legal
administration after the courts approved the creditors' agreement which was
signed a couple of weeks' ago. The creditors' meeting agreed that the amount
due to ordinary creditors would be reduced by half to €24 million, and
that a calendar of payments had been approved both for the ordinary creditors,
and also for the tax authorities, who are owed some €30 million. Some 65%
of the club's income over the next three years will come from television rights
after they signed a new contract with Sogecable, expected to bring in €30
million a year between now and 2014, provided that they stay in the first
division during that time. (13.06.12) |
| Racing Santander's financial
problems continue, and after majority shareholder Ali Syed failed to make good
any of his promises to put funds in to the club, they continue to struggle to
get out of the legal administration they were forced to enter into in July last
year. Despite still not having paid the outgoing shareholders for the majority
stake he purchased some time ago, the Indian businessman and his henchmen still
control the board of directors, and the club's recent relegation can be
attributed largely to chaos which has reigned over the last few months. There
is some light in the tunnel though, as the club has reached an agreement with a
majority of ordinary creditors to settle the debts by one of two means, waiving
50% of the debt and paying creditors back over five years with a two year grace
period, or converting the debt into a participative loan, repayable over 15
years. (11.06.12) |
| Getafe president Angel Torres
is considering carrying out a capital increase after talks with the Royal
Emirates Group appeared to have fallen through. The Dubai based group were
expected to pay up to €90 million for the club and put in another €20
million a year to buy players, but the end April deadline passed without news
from the Emirates, and Torres has had to rethink his plans. Meanwhile Espanyol
majority shareholder and ex-president Daniel Sánchez Llibre scotched
rumours that he had been approached by investors from Abu Dhabi to buy out his
share of the Barcelona based club. (11.06.12) |
| Córdoba are out of
legal administration too after the courts gave the green light to the agreement
they had reached with around 75% of their creditors. If the club win through
the play-offs to the first division they are currently involved with, the
€7.3 million of debts will be paid off within the year. However if they
stay in the second division, the debt will be repaid over five years, with
ordinary creditors waiving 50% of the €4.6 million due to them. The
€2.7 million due to preferred creditors (local authorities, employees
etc.) will be paid in full. Meanwhile the creditors of Córdoba's
neighbours Recreativo, also in legal administration, have agreed to a reduction
of 50% of the amounts owed to ordinary creditors. (08.06.12) |
| Local authorities in Madrid
said thy would be deducting over €94,000 from the €100,000 deposit
that Athletic Bilbao were forced to put up for the "fan zone" which was set up
in the capital to accommodate supporters who turned up without tickets for the
recent cup final. The "Ayuntamiento" said that the deduction was to cover costs
of repairs to the local gardens, painting over graffiti and other cleaning
costs. However they would only be charging €4,000 against Barcelona's
deposit for their fan zone, which was set up separately. It seems the winners
didn't make as much of a mess! (07.06.12) |
| Spanish police have issued a
warrant for the arrest of Girona's owner Josep Delgado, who disappeared
recently after facing deportation to Poland for tax evasion. Delgado is accused
of setting up a network of companies in Poland to buy and sell non-ferrous
scrap metals, issuing false invoices and taking other illegal steps to avoid
paying taxes. If captured and sentenced, Delgado will probably be returned to
Spain to serve out his sentence. (06.06.12) |
| Levante have had their most
successful season in their 73 year history, and they will be rewarding their
fans next season with the lowest ticket prices in the league. Season tickets to
watch league, cup and Europa League fixtures start from as low as €160,
which works out at around €8 a game. The club are hoping to increase their
fan base to 15,000 for the upcoming campaign. (04.06.12) |
| As in previous years, any
club not up to date with payments to their players by the end of the season
will be automatically relegated. Last season no less than nine clubs from the
second division B were demoted, although this year the situation is slightly
better, with around 600 players from the regional divisions making claims, as
against 800 in summer last year. Several teams such as Alcorcón,
Nàstic and Cádiz are waiting for overdue payments from their
local authorities to be able to settle their bills. (02.06.12) |
| Zaragoza have reached an
agreement with their creditors to settle the amounts due under their legal
administration, and the local courts have approved this subject to appeal. The
judge still has to rule however as to whether the temporary bankruptcy was
"fortuitous", or whether to find unpopular club president Agapito Iglesias and
his administrators guilty of taking the club in to that situation through
negligent and / or fraudulent actions. A group of small shareholders are
expected to petition the court for a guilty verdict. (01.06.12) |
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