News
SÁB 28.12.2024
As LALIGA EA SPORTS pauses for the Christmas break, there is still so much to play for over the second half of the season. Focusing in on the title race, it’s so tight and it’s almost impossible to predict who’ll lift the trophy at the end of the season. With Atlético de Madrid on 41 points, Real Madrid on 40 and FC Barcelona on 38, this is the most thrilling title race in Europe, and fourth-placed Athletic Club, on 36 points, can’t be ruled out either.
THE COMPARISON WITH OTHER EUROPEAN LEAGUES
Of the other major European leagues, only the Italian Serie A is this tight at the top at this stage of the season, which along LALIGA are the only other top league with the first three teams separated by just three points. Looking at the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga and the French Ligue 1, none of these competitions has its top two teams within one point of each other. In England, the gap between first and third is currently six points, while in Germany it’s nine points and in France it’s 10 points.
POINTS PROJECTION FOR THIS SEASON’S CHAMPION
On the basis of the results so far, the current pace suggests that this league title could be won with 86 points. Since 2008, only the titles won in the springs of 2021 and 2022 were achieved with so few points, as every other title was secured with more. What this shows is that LALIGA EA SPORTS has become extra competitive, and the clubs outside the usual top three can dream.
To find a season that was this tight at the top at this stage of the season, we’d have to go back to the 2016/17 campaign, when Real Madrid, Sevilla FC and FC Barcelona were just two points apart at the halfway stage of the season. Real Madrid were the winter champions and ended up clinching that title with a 2-0 win away at Málaga CF on the final day, securing the three points they needed to win the championship.
There are two primary factors behind the increasing equality and competitiveness in LALIGA in recent years:
AUDIOVISUAL RIGHTS
Since the approval of the Spanish law on the joint sale of audiovisual rights, titled Real Decreto-ley 5/2015, there has been a more even distribution of this money. The aim of this has been to promote greater balance between all the clubs in the competition, with 50% of the total amount now being distributed equally among all the clubs, while the remaining amount is distributed in a variable manner depending on certain objective factors, such as sporting results or the social reach.
Looking at the split that was recently announced for the 2023/24 season, the ratio between the highest audiovisual rights earner (FC Barcelona - €153.82m) and the lowest (UD Almería - €43.40m) was 3.5. Back in 2013/14, this ratio was double that.
Moreover, the centralised sale has been a success not only because the distribution is more balanced, but also because the total amount secured is higher. In 2014/15, the sum of what all clubs earned for their audiovisual rights amounted to €860m, while in 2023/24 it was €1,351m (57% more).
ECONOMIC CONTROL
Spain’s clubs also decided to self-impose a LALIGA Economic Control framework in 2013. The aim was to ensure the sustainability of the competition and the clubs by reviewing all clubs’ financial situations. This framework has provided the guarantee that all teams are playing by the same set of rules, that there is no financial doping in any form and, above all, that LALIGA clubs can enjoy sustainable growth. In other words, real competition on the field has been generated thanks to the balance off the field.
The success of the application of the Economic Control framework, along with the responsibility shown by the clubs themselves, has been indisputable. From 2014/15 to 2019/20, the combined net worth of the clubs increased by 250%. Meanwhile, debts owed to the public administrations has reduced from €650m in 2013 (most of it overdue) to just €3m in 2023 (all up to date). Similarly, the amount in non-payments to players has fallen drastically, from €89m to €0.
© LALIGA - 2024