“If nothing is done with the calendar, the Super League will come out”

Sports Law Institute celebrated its first anniversary of existence with a round table that featured the great sports lawyers of Spain. The debate, which led by name ‘Desafiando el status quo’ It was moderated by Toni Roca and Javier Ferrero, Reyes Bellver, Maite Nadal and Álvaro Gil participated to analyze the current transfer system and the Super League, among other topics.

Transfer system

“This season we have experienced a transfer market with the arrival of free players. And everything indicates that if Mbappé arrives at Madrid, he will also be free.”

Maite nadal He started the debate by giving his point of view: “It seems to me something very punctual. There have been a series of circumstances for it to happen. Players in the last years of his career. Messi was a carom for PSG, he was almost renewed with Barcelona. It will not be the usual trend, it will occur in some specific case. Trying to draw conclusions from what happens in post-pandemic football is very risky. “

Secondly, Javier Ferrero points to a change: “It gives me the feeling that there has been a bubble and the pandemic has made us see it. There are clubs like Barcelona that have realized that they do not generate so much income to pay so much in transfers. Perhaps the players can play with their freedom, which will now have a value. Defensive clauses have been abused all over the world, causing a crazed market to exist. Perhaps the transfers will not disappear, but it will be regulated. “

Reyes Bellver wanted to look for the germ of the current transfer system to understand its existence: “You have to know the origin of the transfer system. One of the objectives when it was created in 2001 was the concept of solidarity. Lately it has not been produced and it is what has to be readapted. The system is not going to end as such. “Álvaro Gil also wanted to contribute his point of view:” The market itself has regulated itself. With the exception of some milestones such as the payment of the Neymar clause, television income has always been distributed in those signings. There are controls, as in LaLiga, for these transfers. I think there has never been a time when the market as such has been endangered, it has always been self-regulating, except for that money from the sheikhs. “

International calendar

Another of the discussion points in the round table was the increasingly crowded calendar, that this season has caused institutional confrontations (FIFA and CONMEBOL against Ligas; LaLiga-RFEF) due to the stoppage of national teams and the new scenario that arises by creating a biennial World Cup.

Reyes Bellver asked to take care of the player’s health and underlined the option of reducing the number of national teams so that they have fewer trips: “You have to think about the player and the workload. It is a global change and all the parties involved have to sit at the tables. As long as there is more income and a good redistribution, this is important, it is good. FIFA has said it will double revenue. If we structure a World Cup every two years because it will be positive for the fans and the players, we will have to structure the calendar so that the competitions do not lose value. If it is something that only comes from FIFA with a unilateral change, it will not seem correct to me. Although we are seeing that the intention is a change with everyone and in dialogue. Shortening trips seems very positive to me. You have to listen to everyone and find your balance. It is not bad to innovate. “

Maite Nadal, for her part, focused on the risk that clubs take with these new national team competitions: “I don’t know to what extent there should be balance when the teams are the ones that pay the players. Great from FIFA, but I disagree and I am critical. Football also tires at all hours. This is not only about national teams, but also about clubs that are the ones that pay. In this, who should take the upper hand are the clubs, which are the ones that leave their assets for these competitions. Are the players going to be able to endure so many games? If you have to expand the squads, they mean more expenses for the clubs. The central nucleus is being lost: the clubs and the players. Thebes already said it, the dialogue is not being such. FIFA is the great beneficiary. He is gambling with money and assets that are not his. “

And in the same sense, Ferrero spoke: “Basically, there are some clubs that spend their money on their players. We all like the National Team, but the main thing is the leagues. It is the main activity. You have to find a system in which everything is logical. There are players who only play for the national team, look at Bale, they paid 100 million for him. If nothing is done, the Super League will come out. There is no talk between institutions, they all get on badly. “

“We are putting the health of the players at risk. You have to go around the calendar and set a limit. The cake is the cake, it can be divided into smaller pieces, but there is what there is, “said Álvaro Gil

Superliga

The attempt to create the Super League was another of the hottest topics of the round table. Despite the fact that the European Union seems to turn its back on this type of competition, the great sports lawyers in Spain do not rule out that it will become a reality, although under another name. “This project I don’t know if it’s dead or not. Since I have been working in this sector, in his day he has intervened in the G-14. It was that. All this was negotiated and adapted. Now they have had enough. They have not measured the dimension that football has, but some formula will be sought. We see better stadiums and higher investments. That is why they are going to look for more attractive matches worldwide. Maybe it is not incompatible. I find it difficult for them to agree. Knowing Florentino, the issue of the Super League should not be considered dead “, Ferrero warned. But he was not the only one, Álvaro Gil added: “It is clear what is the demand of the clubs to UEFA, a better redistribution of money. Everyone has to agree. Maybe breaking the deck is not the best option, but yes no agreement is reached … “.

The round table Maite Nadal followed the same path: “This was dead from the start given how it came out. I agree they didn’t measure. But it’s a trend that’s going to go away. It will be done with consensus and dialogue, that nothing happens. The interlocutor will change and agreements will be reached. It seems like a project that will come out, but it can’t be done roughly. I do not rule it out at all. “And the absolute majority was reached at the round table of not ruling out the appearance of a Super League with the point of view of Reyes Bellver:” It is nothing new. It is logical, the clubs want more. The European model is not the American Superbowl. It seems good to me that Superleague models are created, but people have to understand that it is outside the system and it is a different thing. It will be seen if society likes it. I do not think so. In Europe we tend to other types of competitions with ascents and descents. The fan is more global and not just from the two or three best teams in the world. That they try it, but that it does not leave the European competitions. I thank the English fans who have finished this. We in Spain do not have even a quarter of the power of the English fan. This is for the hobbyist. “

Women’s Football

Reyes Bellver also wanted to analyze the current situation facing women’s football in Spain. They are trying to create a professional league, but the threat of a strike hovers over the competition due to the lack of agreement between the parties: “The dialogue is flawed. There is no understanding. Women’s football has people around it who believe in it and want to professionalize. But there are also others who pass by and want to be in the photo or those who do not see it yet. If you professionalize a League in the most watched sport, it will help society improve in equality. We should try to get it out for that purpose. Women’s sport can help society. I see it deeper and more global. “