MADRID, 9 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, valued the Kings League, a new 7-a-side soccer competition created by ex-soccer player Gerard Piqué with several ‘streamers’ leading roles, as a “circus” that he “likes”, although he stressed that it cannot be compared with the highest category of Spanish football, since it is “as if they say that Pasapalabra can compete” with LaLiga.
“It’s as if they say that Pasapalabra can be a competitor of LaLiga, they only look alike (LaLiga and the Kings League) in that it’s a ball and they score goals. I can’t imagine Enigma in LaLiga. It’s a circus, it’s not a matter of attract young audiences. It’s not comparable to us. There are media that compare and make mistakes, nor the way to broadcast, on Twitch, for free”, he commented after the presentation of the second edition of the Global Players Program on Piqué’s new initiative.
The format devised by the former player, under the name of Kings League, is a competition with famous Spanish-speaking ‘streamers’ as presidents of 12 teams, whose players were chosen in a ‘draft’. This weekend the second day was played, with one of the matches, between the xBuyer Team and Kunisports -del Kun Agüero, reaching 400,000 viewers on Twitch. An audience figure for which Tebas was asked this Monday, who does not see a rival in this tournament ‘owned’ by Piqué.
“I hope you ask me this question in six months, let’s see how much we talk about the Kings League. When they bought the PSG matches for Leo Messi, they only broadcast two, and they bought two or three years. As a circus, I like it, but It is not comparable with the soccer industry,” the president said.
However, he did not rule out entering into business alliances with the ex-Azulgrana, as is already the case through his company Kosmos. “We have a theme with them in PortAventura, we have participated in the Davis Cup. They say that the Kings League thing is innovative… You have to be careful with that expression. It’s different, but it doesn’t have to be right. Here we hear everyone the world, we are willing to grow. If they come with an idea that we believe they can contribute, we will be there, otherwise, no, as we have done before,” he explained.
“Sometimes neither I nor the clubs know financial control in depth. When City players went to Girona we had to modify it. If you come from a team with a very high salary, you can’t go to another with a very low one. It’s impossible for Piqué will play in his Andorra this season,” he added about the former defender putting on the shirt of the club he owns.
The president of the employers’ association also addressed other current issues, such as the controversy with the hands during this League weekend. Specifically, the penalties awarded in Villarreal-Real Madrid, before which Tebas, in addition to other plays during the season, asked for “changes” so as not to “load” the VAR.
“It worries me that with the VAR there is a unease in footballers, managers, regarding certain interpretations. With the offside there are no more problems, it is not controversial. Even penalties, there is much less controversy. The problem today is the unease with the interpretation of the hands, perhaps I would not have whistled a single one this weekend”, he opined.
Still, he insisted that VAR “is positive for football.” “You have to work to solve this. I’ve already lost myself, I’m unable to understand it. We have to reduce the VAR referees, with 5-6 it would be enough, to unify the criteria more. It would be a group of specialists, it would help us much more They are not hands, we are going to kill the naturalness of football, in the area they look like dolls or robots, “he added.
“IN 2025 THERE WILL BE NO SUPER LEAGUE, SAY WHAT THE SENTENCE SAYS”
Before the future ruling on the compatibility of competitions such as the European Super League with UEFA, Tebas reiterated being “optimistic and realistic.” “In 2025 there will be no Super League, whatever the sentence says. The EU has already stated that it wants to maintain the current model, it will be unreal no matter what happens in March, although I think it will reaffirm the European sport model, with nuances, but not with this competition in the hands of the richest clubs”, he stressed.
Regarding the president of Barça, Joan Laporta, promoter of the Super League, along with Real Madrid and Juventus, he repeated that “he must study more how pay television works in Spain”, since “it is an important part of his income”. “There has not been a decrease in the payment of subscribers, there has been a change. Movistar decided that 15-20 euros had to be paid separately. It is not a fall, you have to understand the value of the subscriber,” he told the Barça decorations, attacking the management of LaLiga in terms of commercialization of rights.
“International markets are very complicated, we sell in 80 countries. In China, the Premier has gone to 30 million. I have to worry about what happens in each market, it cannot be generalized. In China, all competitions have fallen, the Premier and we the most, but in general terms we have grown more than the Premier. The income of Barça and Real Madrid are at the highest level, like the Premier teams. If you compare budgets, Barça and Real Madrid have more budget “, he insisted.
Finally, Tebas predicted a winter market without “great movement” in Spain, and wished that “work be done” so that the candidacy of Spain, Portugal and Ukraine “be the one chosen” to organize the 2030 World Cup, before the entry of Saudi Arabia as rival.