Leading La Liga clubs including Real Madrid and Barcelona may be close to reaching a deal under which TV income would be shared more equitably, according to the president of the league (LFP).
“We had a meeting and a proposal was made to share income according to percentages linked to audience share, a fixed percentage and (further percentages) that fluctuate according to historical results,” LFP president Jose Luis Astiazaran said in an interview published in Marca.
“There are internal contacts between the clubs and, above all, between Real Madrid and Barcelona, with the aim of making a proposal on October 5.”
However, he said most clubs had TV deals that ran until 2013 or 2014 and any changes would probably not be introduced until 2015 as it was “important to reach a consensus”.
Spanish clubs do not currently share revenue Real and Barca getting around half the total pot of around €600 million.
Poorer clubs have asked the government to introduce collective negotiation to boost their competitiveness and help them avoid insolvency.
But secretary of state for sport Jaime Lissavetzky has said he would not introduce legislation.
A study published in May by Sport+Markt, showed Real and Barca earned almost 19 times more from TV deals than the smallest clubs in the top division, by far the biggest gap among European leagues.
The richest clubs in the English Premier League, by contrast, earned around 1.7 times more than their smaller rivals, the study showed.
The current system means most clubs are unable to meet the huge wage demands of top players or pay the massive transfer fees needed to buy them.
Barca set a new points record in winning La Liga last season and Real were three points behind in second. Third-placed Valencia were 25 points adrift.
Lissavetzky has also said a planned “sports law” to be introduced this year will create an independent body to monitor clubs’ finances, with powers to punish transgressors by excluding them from competition.
The 20 La Liga clubs had combined debt of €3.526 billion in 2008/09, up from €3.49 billion the previous season, according to a study published in May by University of Barcelona accounting professor Jose Maria Gay.
Astiazaran was unhappy with government intervention and said the LFP wanted to set up its own committee to regulate clubs’ finances, with “independent members” to assess solvency.
“We don’t want an external body because the league will show sufficient credibility to have its own system,” he told Marca.
Astiazaran also said a salary cap was “an erroneous concept”. A cap on “investment in the squad” was one system being considered instead.
“That is to say, you can invest an amount in the squad based on a proportion of your revenue,” he said.
