I'll start this post with a tricky little question. Three Spanish clubs managed to achieve an operating profit during the 2008/2009 season. Real Madrid, Barcelona and one more. Who? With the aim of increasing this number, the Spanish government is set to lay out a new set of rules which will restrict the amount La Liga clubs have to play with when it comes to forking out for players. Jaime Lissavetsky, the countrys Secretary of State for Sport, has proposed that clubs will not be allowed to spend more than 70/75% of their income on transfers and wages, with the measure pencilled in for the 2011/2012 season. It remains to be seen if the proposal will become law or not, but those already worried that Barca and Real Madrid are turning Spanish football into a posh SPL won't be best pleased with what Lissavetsky has put forward.
But something has to be done as the combined debt among Liga clubs rose to €3.5 billion, with the salaries demanded by stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo pushing wages to an outrageous 85% of total operating income. Six or seven of the Liga clubs are running bankrupt or in administration, with Mallorca the most recent to enter into voluntary administration as they posted a pre-tax loss of just over €5 million, even after finishing fifth. Spain has even more reason to act urgently, as UEFA finalise their 'Financial Fair Play' rules which are set to be implemented in 2012/2013, and will require ALL teams to be running an operating profit in order to participate in European competition. 'Florentino summers' may well be a thing of the past.
Read the whole fascinating article, and find out the answer to my initial question, in the Wall Street Journal HERE. Spanish football is in for a rough ride in the coming years, as the sport is forced to come to terms with it's own financial crisis, brought about by reckless spending and dreadful money management.