Could La Liga's new TV rights seriously harm Real Madrid and Barcelona?

   For years in the Spanish La Liga, Real Madrid and Barcelona have always dominated the allocated TV rights money, leading to other sides in the league struggling to stay financially afloat, or having to sell their best players on a regular basis. This has led to the league being fairly noncompetitive and on times predictable. Teams like Valencia in recent years have arguably been hit hardest by this lack of fair TV rights money distribution. For example Valencia have been continuously forced to sell their best players over the years such as Juan Mata, Jordi Alba and David Villa in order to not stray near to administration. Also clubs like Atletico Madrid have also been forced to sell star players such as Fernando Torres and Radamel Falcao. On times it may be because a player wishes to move on, however it is not a coincidence that it is generally only Real Madrid and Barcelona who have the final say on whether they want to sell their best assets. This is because they possess financial domination within the La Liga, and yes, they might be the most successful sides in the league, but a huge portion of their income is from the unbalanced distribution of the TV rights. However on the 27th April 2015 a legislation was passed which provided a definitive rule in which the money from TV rights that La Liga retains every year was from the 2016/17 season to be distributed evenly throughout all the leagues clubs.  

The two Spanish giants.

   However this is all set to change, and clear the way for a fairer and more competitive Spanish La Liga. From the 2016/17 season, the Spanish La Liga TV rights will far more evenly distributed to all the sides within La Liga, and not just Real Madrid and Barcelona (The Guardian, 2015). The structure will be similar to the current method in which the Premier League pays out finance from TV deals, and will be evenly distributed across all 20 teams, no matter how popular or successful they are. For example Q.P.R, the side who finished bottom of the Premier League in the 2014/15 season earned more money from TV rights than

Atletico Madrid, who finished 3^rd in their division, Cardenal said (The Guardian, 2015). This reflects the in balance in the way that the TV rights money in La Liga is distributed. Most clubs in Professional football heavily rely on TV money in order to keep financially stable. Without this financial stability within the La Liga, well performing teams such as Malaga F.C, Villarreal C.F, and Real Betis have on time found themselves relegated, due to not being able to keep their best players, as a result of financial restrictions.

A revealing diagram showing the unbalanced state of affairs. (Euros)

   So how will this actually affect Real Madrid or Barcelona in a negative way? When the legislation passes and gives equal TV rights to all sides in the league it will leave Real Madrid and Barcelona with roughly £120 - £140 million less a year. And considering financial fair play is beginning to take effect, this could furthermore restrict the two Spanish super clubs from spending big money, buying the latest ‘Galactico’, or poaching young stars from within minnow clubs. Will this lead to cuts in wages or financial power that the big clubs have in the transfer windows? It must, Barcelona are already very careful with their distribution of wage, with only two players within their respective squads who are above the £200k pay threshold, and a majority of the players earn £130k a week or less (TotalSportek). Taking the imminent TV rights implementation on La Liga this will lead to the two super clubs in Real Madrid and Barcelona having to look elsewhere for that extra £100 million that they would normally receive from the allocation of TV rights money. This will result in further wage cuts, which could then have a huge impact on the players who are at the top of their respective teams like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The modern day footballer is short of loyalty and if Barcelona or Real Madrid cut their wages further and say they cannot make as many marquee signings, the best players will up and leave.

  In conclusion as a result of the imminent new TV rights legislation's being implemented in the Spanish league, this could provide clubs in England such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City with an huge advantage going into European competition. It will also lead to the La Liga becoming a more competitive and entertaining league, as most football fans would not want to watch a game like Real Madrid vs Eibar, as they know it will be like a training game. Clubs will be able to retain their good players easier and therefore will be able to build decent squads, like the clubs in the Barclays Premier league. 

"Juventus can beat Barcelona in the Champions league final"

   As the largest competition in European club football comes to its penultimate climax, it is hard to come to the conclusion of who is a clear favourite to lift the famous trophy in Berlin on Saturday. After Barcelona's crushing of Bayern Munich in the Semi-Finals, they are the apparent favourites to win the tournament, with Sky Bet offering them at 4/7 to lift their 5th Champions League Trophy. However standing in the way of them, are Juventus, who managed to beat Barcelona's arch rivals Real Madrid in the Semi-Finals, and in no way will the task be easy for either side to emerge victorious. 

Juventus Captain, Gianluigi Buffon celebrates Juventus key goal at the Bernabeu.

   Juventus put in a truly remarkable defensive display in the game against Real Madrid in the second leg at the Estadio Bernabeu, where their opponents failed to score a second goal they needed in order to force extra time. This was some achievement if you look a the sheer attacking force that represent Real Madrid, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez, it would be hard for any side to limit opportunities to score, however Juventus prevailed. They must do the same against Barcelona on Saturday if they are to stand any chance of winning the tournament. I think the task they face is greater than what they accomplished against Madrid. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have a incredible 120 goals between them this season, and one would be a fool to suggest that one of them won't find the net in Berlin on Saturday. In order for Juventus to stand a chance they must attempt to limit Barcelona from playing their free flowing and elegant football as best as they can, not an easy task. 

   In previous finals against Manchester United, when Barcelona where being limited in terms of their free flowing football, all Barcelona did was change their tactics accordingly, into a more counter attacking style and managed to win the games. So even if Juventus do limit the possession and elegant play that Barcelona always display, they have to also be aware of the pace on the counter attack that Barcelona often use to crush teams, as they did in the Semi Finals against Bayern Munich. As soon as the German side got back into the game and pushed forward, Barcelona through Neymar and Suarez, stormed the pitched and before Bayern knew it they where behind in the game, and out of the tie. Where I fear for Juventus is they often like to play within a 3-5-1-1 formation, With Patrice Evra and Lichtsteiner as wing backs, and if they where to deploy this against Barcelona, I don't feel that Evra or Lichtsteiner would stand a chance against the flair and pace of Neymar and Messi on either wing.

The Three Musketeers. Suarez, Neymar and Messi, celebrate 1 or their 120 goals between them this season.

   Each teams key players, and the way in which they perform on the night will also pay huge dividends to who eventually wins the final. For Juventus, players like Vidal, Pogba, Pirlo and Tevez will be of great importance and will star if Juventus win. For me, although I've seen a lot of quality displays from young Paul Pogba, he is yet to set a big game alight, and there is no bigger tie than the champions league final, its his time to shine. Andrea Pirlo loves the big occasions, he is a natural born winner with an unbelievable arsenal of technique and natural raw passing ability, the occasion will not phase him. However he was largely disappointing at the Bernabeu and will be desperate to put that right in the final, certainly a player to watch even at the ripe age of 36. Carlos Tevez has arguably had the best season of his career, with a total of 29 goals in all competitions, this tally puts him in within Europe's elite goalscorers, and I expect him to pose his usual threat. He could cause the sometimes stationary Barcelona defence huge problems with his pace and power. Looking at Barcelona, the threats are endless, the obvious ones are, Neymar and Suarez. But then you have of course Iniesta, Alba, Sergio, and Rakatic, who has shown huge improvement as the season has progressed. The is no one that you can highlight as the main threat for Juventus, and this is what makes Barcelona so special, so unique, the fact that every player in the team has huge talent, ability and togetherness, as well as of course the outrageous individual and out of this world ability of Lionel Messi.

But who is going to win the final in Berlin? Its been a difficult last 10 years for Juventus, expelled from the top of Italian and subsequently European competition due to a match fixing scandal, but that is now in the past and they look like a side who can cause huge trouble to any side. And for me Barcelona appear to be a completely rejuvenated side. Over the last 2 years they have somewhat struggled, teams figured out how to play against them and they were being beaten by some of Europe's elite such as Bayern Munich. But now, under Luis Enrique they are stronger than ever. I think they will edge the final, it will be a tight affair and I don't expect buckets of goals, Juventus will put up a hard fight but in the end Barcelona will break their mould, with the likes of Suarez, Neymar and Messi likely to form a front 3, no team in the world can shut them out for a full 90 minutes, in the form they are in.

Prediction: Juventus 1-2 Barcelona (a.e.t)