LionelMessiRealMadridwentfurtherinattacking
theleague’splans,claimingthatthey
wereundertaking“civilandcriminal
legalaction”against LaLigaandits
president,JavierTebas,overthe
investmentproposal.
LaLigachiefTebasimmediately
hitbackatRealMadridpresident
FlorentinoPerez,accusinghimof
“threateningmethods”overthe
courseof “years”thathavebeen
used“inprivate”against“theclubs
andinstitutionsofLaLiga”.
Thegloveswereoff.Thiswas
openwarfare.Threedaysafter LaLiga’s
confirmationoftheir investmentfrom
CVC,RealMadridsupremoPerez met
hisBarcacounterpart Laportainthe
Catalancapital.Theywerejoinedby
AndreaAgnelli,
chairmanof
Juventus.
Theseare
thethreeclubs
whoremained
committedtotheideaofaso-called
EuropeanSuper League,thedefacto
proposals of topclubstobreakfree
fromwhattheysawas theshackles
ofUEFAandotherfootballbodies
throughoutEurope.Thetriocontinue
toreleasejoint-statements backing
theplans–they believetheideaisa
goldentickettosolvingtheirfinancial
issuesandsecuringtheirpermanent
statusaseliteclubs.
LaLigapresidentTebaswas among
themostvocalopponentstotheplans,
drivenbythesuspicionthattherival
clubs–whowereinitiallyjoinedby
AtleticoMadrid,wholaterwithdrew
theirsupport –wouldleadtothe
breakawayfromhisleague,whowere
attemptingtodrawupamoreequitable
distributionofincomeandimplement
sustainablemodelsofeconomicgrowth.
Inthesimplest terms,theCVCinvestment–and
theircontractual
tiestotheaudio-
visualrightsof
LaLigaclubs–
wouldkilloffany
lingeringhopesof
aSuperLeague,
whichBarcaand
Madridcontinue
topromote.The
leaguebelieved
thatcommitment
tothisinvestment
wouldtiedown
itstwomost
profitableand
marketableclubs
inalong-term
agreement, inwhichLaLiga–andnot
theclubs–wereinthedrivingseat.
Thisisabattlefor powerthat
isbeingplayedoutinthepubliceye,
notjust betweenclubsandgoverning
bodiesbutalsobetweenhugely
influentialandself-confidentindividuals.
Spanishfootballandits clubsare
inherentlypolitical–clubpresidents
areelectedbyandaccountableto
clubsocios–andpower of personality
counts.Perez,LaportaandTebasare
threepoliticalheavyweights,andnone
arepreparedtocedeanygroundin
thisincreasinglyfractureddivision.
Thestand-offhasmadealliesof
naturalenemies–RealMadridand
Barcelonaarenowside-by-sidein
fightingfor,whattheyfundamentally
believe, is thenaturaloutcomefor
Europeanfootball–as leaguesand
organisationscontinuetoextinguish
theflames,insistingthattheproposals
aresteepedingreed,self-interest
andalackofaccountability.Bythisstage,Messiwas jetting
offagain–thistimefor Paris,where
hewouldsignatwo-yearcontractwith
PSG.GerardPique,hisformerLaMasia
team-matewasrevealedtohavetaken
apay-cut, insistingthattheclub’s three
othercaptainsandacademy graduates,
SergioBusquets,SergiRobertoand
Jordi Alba,wouldjoinhimindoing
sotohelpkeeptheclubafloat.
Yet theoneplayer thatthey
weremostdesperatetokeepwas
ultimatelytheonewhomtheycould
not.Beyondtheutterlyabsurdnumbers
demonstratinghisrelentless geniusand
longevity, it is thememoriesandhistory
thatwillleavethemostprofoundimpact- thiswasindisputablyaneraof true
greatness.
ThefutureforBarcelona,Real
Madrid,LaLigaandthepower
battlesforEuropeanfootball
remainsinfinitelyless clear.
Suchinvestmentwouldprovidean
immediate,andmuch-needed,cash
injectionintoclubsthroughoutthetop
twodivisionsofSpanishfootball tohelp
alleviateshort-termfinancialworries.
Theproposal passedfollowingaclub
vote– 38 clubsvotedinfavour, four
votedagainst.BarcelonaandReal
Madridbothobjectedtothedeal.
Intheory,theincomewouldhave
affordedBarcathefundstoregister a
newcontractofferforMessi,alongside
threenewsummersigningsattheclub
(EricGarcia,MemphisDepayandSergio
Aguero),whowereonlylaterregistered
followingagreedplayer-wagecuts
elsewhereinthesquad.Yet they decided
nottoaccepttheproposalandpublicly
claimedthattheleaguewas undervaluing
itsfuturerights.ClubpresidentLaporta
saidhewouldnotbepreparedto
“mortgagetheclubforhalfacentury”
- referencingtheCVCinvestment–
tocommitMessitoanewagreement.
Legacy...thetrophies
MessiwonatBarcelonaThegloveswereoff.
Thiswasopenwarfare