La Liga and Spanish Football have become a laughingstock

Javier Martinez Albir

Miami, FL
03/26/2025

La Liga (and Spanish Football in general) is a joke and has lost all sense of credibility. Once revered as the best football league in the world, it has recently been mired in constant controversy and scandal.

La Liga’s reputation has taken a massive hit due to a combination of financial instability, high-profile player departures, and refereeing controversy. One of the most criticized aspects is the leadership of Javier Tebas, the league president, whose controversial statements dominate the headlines on a daily basis.

While it’s easy to blame Tebas and the frequent refereeing scandals, it’s also fair to acknowledge that La Liga is facing the consequences of its own actions.

Why is Javier Tebas still La Liga President?

To begin with, it’s important to remember that Javier Tebas didn’t appoint himself; he was elected by a large majority of clubs in 2013. He promised to introduce financial regulations, make match tickets more affordable, and clean up Spanish football following match-fixing allegations. However, like a true politician, he has not fully upheld these promises. Ticket prices have risen, and he has done little to address the ongoing match-fixing allegations. His financial regulations have also negatively impacted most La Liga clubs, who struggle to retain their best players and have often been forced to sell them at low prices to comply with these rules.

Regardless, many clubs have continued to support him and even awarded him a significant salary increase, making him the highest-paid league president among the top leagues. One major reason for this support is his commitment to reforming television broadcasting rights. Before Tebas became the president of La Liga in 2013, individual clubs were responsible for negotiating their own television contracts. This approach was widely criticized, as larger clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona secured highly lucrative deals, while smaller clubs faced challenges in generating substantial revenue.

In response, Tebas implemented a centralized system, allowing La Liga to collectively negotiate and sell broadcasting rights for all member clubs. This strategy aimed to promote a more equitable distribution of revenue and enhance overall league competitiveness. However, critics argue that this method has ultimately harmed the league. The revenue distribution is predetermined and not significantly influenced by a club’s performance, leading several clubs to feel less financial pressure and thus reluctant to invest in their squads. This situation has contributed to the decline of historically significant La Liga clubs, such as Valencia and Sevilla, who now fight to avoid relegation.

Rules for thee, but not for FC Barcelona

The handling of FC Barcelona’s financial issues has raised questions regarding financial regulations within La Liga. Barcelona has been allowed to register players despite ongoing economic challenges that continue to hinder the team. In 2022, the club engaged in financial maneuvers known as “financial levers,” selling assets to address its economic situation and facilitate new signings. Payments from these asset sales were structured in installments, and La Liga permitted Barcelona to register players based on initial funds received and the club’s promise to fulfill future payments.

However, it was later revealed that Barcelona did not receive the full payments for the 24.5% sale of Barça Studios, which had facilitated player registrations before their successful 2022/2023 season. In 2023, the club attempted to sell 16% of Barça Studios to a German investment company for €65 million, but the deal did not go through at the last moment. In any case, Barcelona was still granted permission to register new signings for the 2023/2024 season. Notably, a meeting between Joan Laporta and Javier Tebas took place at Tebas’ residence in Huesca, where they reportedly discussed ways to address FC Barcelona’s financial problems.

This season, stricter measures were implemented, leading to complications in registering Dani Olmo, who received temporary permission from Spain’s National Sports Council to play. Regardless, several points regarding Javier Tebas’ connections to FC Barcelona are noteworthy:

• One of the companies involved in purchasing Barça Studios was Orpheus Media, whose CEO, Jaume Roures, is a Barcelona member and financed part of Joan Laporta’s financial guarantee for his return as president in 2021.
• Jaume Roures is the CEO of MediaPro, responsible for the media rights to La Liga and the provision of footage for VAR reviews.
• Roures and Tebas are business partners and co-founded Spanish Soccer International Marketing AIE in 2014, a company that ceased operations in 2017.

Lack of consistency

Javier Tebas has a troubling pattern of selectively defending the interests of La Liga. Recently, the league filed a lawsuit against Real Madrid after the club formally complained about biased refereeing decisions. While Tebas claims to prioritize the league’s credibility, his contrasting approach to similar situations involving Atlético Madrid and Barcelona is hard to ignore.

• Last season, Joan Laporta publicly accused the league of manipulation.
• In 2023, Atlético Madrid’s owner, Miguel Ángel Gil, released a letter criticizing the league’s management for perceived biases in officiating.

Despite these serious allegations, Tebas did not pursue a lawsuit against either club nor did he address their concerns in the public forum. Instead, many La Liga clubs rallied to condemn Real Madrid’s complaint, fully backing Tebas’ lawsuit. Sevilla’s president, José María del Nido Carrasco, even accused Real Madrid of “trying to destroy Spanish football.”

It’s astounding to witness the unified front that La Liga and its clubs presented in response to Real Madrid while responding to the FC Barcelona-Negreira scandal with far less urgency. Many clubs issued a joint statement expressing deep concern over the Negreira case and called for stringent measures to uphold transparency. Yet, none dared to assert that the scandal threatened the very foundation of the league or demanded severe punishment for Barcelona.

Tebas himself has treaded carefully around this scandal. He acknowledges its seriousness but conveniently reminds us that Barcelona cannot face administrative relegation due to the statute of limitations and insists there is no evidence of bribery involving individual referees. It’s hard to swallow that, while Tebas aggressively pursues Real Madrid, La Liga is unwilling to impose harsher punishments on Barcelona for actions that severely undermine the integrity of the league. This inconsistency raises serious questions about the principles guiding Tebas and the management of La Liga.