Barcelona (Reuters)
Barcelona and Real Madrid threatened new legal action if La Liga went ahead with accepting funds from the direct investment fund CVC, saying on Tuesday the deal was illegal and too expensive.
The two largest clubs in Spain, in addition to Athletic Bilbao, brought together by their members rather than companies, accused the president of the association of exceeding the legal authority of the institution and acting forcibly and unilaterally.
“The clubs are sovereign members of the League and are not prisoners of its president. All of these issues are serious and require the clubs to take the necessary legal steps to protect their legitimate interests,” the two clubs said in an open letter.
After revealing several aspects of the agreement with CVC, such as those related to the clubs’ audio-visual rights, the two clubs said it was illegal.
The three clubs took legal action last September to challenge the association’s deal with CVC.
However, the agreement will receive final approval next Friday, as it won the support of 38 clubs among 42 representing the first and second divisions in the first round of voting.
The agreement stipulates that CVC’s private equity fund will acquire 11% of the league’s television broadcasting rights for a period of 50 years, in return for a single payment of 2.7 billion euros.
The three clubs rejected the agreement and proposed an alternative offer that would cost the Spanish clubs about 900 million euros, and would maintain control over their audiovisual rights.
The League’s president, Javier Tebas, strongly criticized the alternative proposal for the three clubs.
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