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There's an interesting report on Bloomberg.com today suggesting Barcelona has agreed to reduce the disparity among TV rights money La Liga clubs receive. Currently, Barca and Madrid each get around €140m from their TV contracts, while Granada only received about €15m last year. (The 6.5 times figure quoted in the article seems incorrect).
Back in February Javier Tebas, in an email exchange, said the new "Sports Law" being negotiated would result in the top clubs (Barcelona and Madrid) receiving no more than four times the smallest payment. At the time, it was said the way this would work was the Barca/Madrid payments would remain the same for a few years and everyone else would be adjusted to catch up.
Now, Barcelona has apparently agreed to a proposal to do this, though exactly how it would work is unclear. One change is that the 2016 TV contract would be negotiated collectively--that is, rather than each team negotiating its own deal, the league will negotiate one contract and share revenues from it among its clubs.
No word as to whether the distribution formula that enshrined Atleti and Valencia as permanent third- and fourth-highest TV earners will change, but I doubt it. La Liga is quite popular in South America and Mexico, but it's doubtful that will translate into a big increase in the TV contract. The EPL currently distributes more than twice as much money to its clubs each year than Spain does. Can the league negotiate a hefty increase in the €800 million clubs earn in TV rights now? That may be the real key.
Other news:
The Segunda Division IS in action this weekend; so far no one is exactly running away with things (the top 9 clubs are within 2 points of each other) but Mallorca has already fallen into the cellar. It appeared things were looking up on the island when a group led by former goalkeeper Duda Aouate had agreed to buy the team, but that deal has now fallen apart.
Aouate had plenty to say against the current directors, two in particular, as quoted on realmaoorca.co.uk.
Aouate launches scathing attack as takeover collapses
Meanwhile, the head coach is apparently about to be fired (he was Aouate's man, in addition to producing poor results). While some Mallorca fans' hatred for Villarreal is well documented, I for one am sorry to see this club in such a state. Gerard Moreno enjoyed his time there last year, and ex-Villarreal B man Joan Truyols is on their roster now. They play this Saturday at home against Alavés--they really need a win.
And news of Pablo Iñiguez-- he's had a terrible time recovering from the pubis injury he suffered last season, but he is in Girona's squad for their visit to Albacete, also on Saturday. Edu Ramos is now playing for them, I believe.