Real Madrid and Barcelona lost their dominance

Two years ago, Spanish football was on the brink of a strike over the unfair distribution of revenue from the sale of television rights. Giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid fully exploited the individual sales system, earning €140 million each year, while the other 18 top-flight teams collectively received on average €100 million less. With the arrival of new league president Javier Tebas, the system changed: individual sales ended, rights began to be sold centrally, and revenues were distributed more fairly.

The result? While Barcelona and Real’s income remained roughly the same, the other clubs saw their TV revenue rise by an average of over €40 million. “La Liga is broadcast via 84 television operators and has 60 contracts in place. For the next three-year cycle, this is expected to rise to 84, which significantly increases the league’s value,” Spanish sports lawyer and football manager Jonás Vallina told the Economic Daily.

Gap narrows
At the start of the month, La Liga published the exact amounts clubs earned from TV rights for the 2016/2017 season—the first under the new centralized system. Barcelona and Real Madrid still took the largest shares (€146.2 million and €140.1 million respectively), but the gap between them and the rest of the league narrowed significantly.

“For smaller clubs, this means they can target higher-quality players who were previously out of reach. The improvement is visible in many squads,” said sports analyst and football agent Jozef Tokos. He cited Athletic Bilbao as an example: six years ago, it earned €17 million from TV rights; last season, it was €71 million.

“Fairer distribution could also mean that teams like Valencia, Bilbao, or Sevilla can close the gap on the trio that have dominated the last decade—Barcelona, Real, and Atlético Madrid,” Tokos explained. In Spain, this change has been almost revolutionary, giving mid-tier clubs the ability to build teams over the long term and attract strong reinforcements. One such case was Celta Vigo, which last summer signed Slovak international Stanislav Lobotka for €5 million. “It’s not only about transfer fees, but also the financial terms of contracts, allowing clubs to compete with other European leagues,” Tokos added.

The Premier League’s unique model
La Liga’s approach now mirrors the model the English Premier League has followed for two decades. Its status as the most attractive and wealthiest league in the world remains unshaken. “Total TV rights revenues in Europe’s top five leagues reached €6.5 billion. Spain is second with €1.25 billion, behind the Premier League’s €2.75 billion,” Vallina noted.

Aside from having double the income, the Premier League is also a global benchmark for fair distribution. “Even the worst team last season, Sunderland, earned €107.4 million—enough to rank third in Spain behind only Barcelona and Real Madrid,” the Spanish football manager said. For comparison, after England and Spain in TV revenue come Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A, and France’s Ligue 1.