Statement on La Liga Impulso Project

Today the President of the Consejo Superior de Deportes (Higher Sports Council - CSD) has called us to a meeting between the CSD itself, the President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation and the President of La Liga, to also be held today.

We were confident that at this meeting the CSD would be able to adopt decisions that would prevent the eventual approval of a project that we consider flagrantly illegal, namely the La Liga Impulso Project, which, if approved, will entail the judicialisation of Spanish football.

However, after calling the meeting, the CSD has informed us that it lacks the powers to make decisions on the La Liga Impulso Project and its legality, expressly inviting us to go to the ordinary courts.

In this context, Athletic Club, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and after consulting their position with the President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, who shares the position of the aforementioned clubs:

• We understand that the meeting proposed by the CSD today should be postponed, and held whenever the CSD (i) has had the chance to properly assess the flagrant irregularities of the La Liga Impulso Project and (ii) confirms that it has the authority to act in the exercise of its supervisory functions;

• We regret that La Liga is continuing to promote the approval of a project that we consider flagrantly illegal and to be seriously damaging to the interests of all Spanish football, supposing the expropriation of the broadcasting rights that belong to each and every one of the clubs that could play in La Liga in the next 50 years, and not to La Liga, and at a time when the pandemic has cuased feelings of helplessness, uncertainty and weakness among many of the current associate members. If the agreement is approved, we shall exercise the appropriate legal actions, of whatever nature; and

• We reiterate our willingness to participate in as many meetings as necessary, as long as their purpose is to assess solutions that respect our legal system in all its extremes, in order to help reach the consensus that Spanish football sorely needs in a climate of open dialogue.