[ad_1]
Barcelona’s offer to register Lionel Messi’s new contract with La Liga received a boost after the league on Wednesday announced a cash injection of € 2.7bn ($ 3.2bn) .
LaLiga has agreed in principle to sell 10% of a newly incorporated company housing most of its activities to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. The sale still requires the approval of the league and club executive committee.
– La Liga on ESPN +: Stream live matches and reruns (US only)
About 90% of the money will go directly to Spanish clubs, including women’s football, semi-professional and non-professional football. It is a loan repayable over a significant number of years, but a source said clubs are “thrilled” as it helps them out of a financial black hole caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Another source has suggested that Barca and Real Madrid will each receive more than € 250million based on the fund access protocol.
“It will be distributed based on the contributions clubs have had since the centralization of audiovisual rights in 2015, a key moment in promoting La Liga,” a league source said. “It doesn’t take into account a specific time, but the average situation of clubs over the past seven years.”
However, the league source added that the purpose of the cash injection is to build for the future, with the league requiring clubs to embark on a plan focused on developing their physical infrastructure and facilities. brands.
Clubs must spend at least 70% of the money on investments related to long-term growth, 15% on refinancing their debt and 15% can be used to increase spending limits imposed by the league.
Barca’s spending limit has been in free fall since the start of the pandemic, dropping from more than € 600m in 2019-2020 to around € 200m for the next campaign. However, the league source confirmed that Wednesday’s deal will see the “slightly updated” limits.
A deal on a new contract with Messi, who has been a free agent since his last contract expired on June 30, is in place, as ESPN revealed in July, but the announcement has been put on hold as Barca cannot not yet register the deal while complying with LaLiga’s financial rules.
They also need to cut their payrolls so they can register new signing Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia and Emerson Royal for the new season.
A source in Barcelona said they hope to finalize Messi’s new terms before Sunday’s Joan Gamper Trophy, when they face Juventus, and that Thursday “could be a key day”.
The money will also be welcomed by Real Madrid and the rest of the top clubs in Spain as they battle the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and play games behind closed doors.
LaLiga are calling the project “Boost LaLiga”, with a league source explaining that she hopes this will help the competition close the gap with the English Premier League over the next decade.
The transaction with CVS will see the creation of a new company to which LaLiga will contribute all of its activities, subsidiaries and joint ventures and in which CVC will hold a minority stake of around 10%.
Additionally, CVC provides funds to LaLiga through a participating account, a long-term arrangement that aligns the interests of LaLiga, the clubs and CVC. In this new company, LaLiga will retain all of its sporting responsibilities as well as the organization and management of audiovisual rights sales.
“The transaction values La Liga at 24.25 billion euros, a price that recognizes LaLiga’s leadership as one of the most important sporting competitions in the world,” said a league statement.
Italian Serie A clubs waived a 10% media rights deal with CVC Capital Partners earlier this year that would have been worth $ 2 billion for that league. In May, ESPN struck an eight-year deal with LaLiga for English and Spanish broadcast rights in the United States. The case begins this month.
Rodrigo Faez contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link