La Liga President: French Clubs Should Start by Stopping the Violence

La Liga President Javier Tebas and Rafael Louzán, head of the Spanish Football Federation, discussed the current state of Spanish football at "The Forum," an industry event organized by Atlético Madrid and Apollo.

“The illogical and irrational dispute made no sense. Now we sit at the same table because we must work together. We haven't argued for a year. We've created stability and trust. Today, the country's biggest companies are with us,” Louzán stated.

Tebas spoke about La Liga's strength on the European stage: “Do we still have capacity for growth? Plenty. If our stadium attendance is 85%, while other European leagues like the Premier League and Bundesliga are at 95%, then we have 10 points to catch up, which means huge revenue for the clubs. Regarding audiovisual rights, I think this year was very good. Despite some predictions of disaster, we saw a 9% growth, which no other European league has achieved.”

“It must be understood that for major brands like Manchester City, Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, or Barcelona to exist, the league itself must also be a strong brand. It's necessary to seek maximum balance between national and European competitions. Because if we don't protect the national league in this sense, brand building will be more difficult,” he added.

“Paris Saint-Germain is in a difficult situation because their national brand has collapsed. The French league is now below the Brazilian league in terms of business volume. The role of organizations like the league and federation isn't about short-term vision. For us, financial fair play is key. I told this to French clubs during a lecture. The first thing you need to do to achieve stability is to stop the violence. You go to Marseille and see players fighting with the crowd. We've experienced that in Spain too,” Tebas explained.

“Also, the centralized sale of television rights is important. Creating a unified brand. I don't know what will happen to me by the 2030 World Cup, I don't even know what will happen in 2030. If I feel attacked and we have to overcome obstacles every day…” he mused.

For his part, Louzán revealed details about the upcoming 2030 World Cup. “Spain is capable of anything. At UEFA, they wonder what has changed, that before the federation didn't want to organize anything, and now it wants to organize everything. The plan for the 2030 World Cup is known to all: there are 20 host cities, 11 in Spain, 6 in Morocco, and 3 in Portugal. From September onwards, the World Cup truly begins. Two cities dropped out (Malaga and La Coruña), and two others are on the verge of joining (Valencia and Vigo). We requested their inclusion,” the president explained.