Pique, former Barcelona player
Gerard Piqué, former FC Barcelona player and current president of the Cosmos and Kings League, analyzed the state of the European soccer industry and business models compared to the United States at the Business Sports Forum of Expansion and MARCA. .
Firstly, the former Barça centre-back opted to reduce the number of teams in La Liga in order to make the competition more attractive. “At the end of the day, sports are moving towards shorter, more unique competitions. A clear example of this is the NLF. There are four months of competitions, and the country is paralyzed. We have attendance records. Football I think we should go there. If everyone participates, the organization can get people together and say, “There’s no way we’re going to have 80 games a year. There’s so many games that people don’t even know what’s going on.” ” argued the Catalan. Pique believes that the accumulation of matches will affect the level of competition. “And at the sporting level the level goes down. If they got together and said they would make a calendar with fewer games, that would be more premium. Instead of 20, 16 or even 14 leagues. “It’s a Champions League with fewer games than the team,” he elaborated.
Ultimately, the sport is moving toward making competitions shorter and more unique. The obvious example is he is in the NLF, there is a 4 month long game and the country is paralyzed.
In Pique’s opinion, the ideal would be to create a Super League, but in a different format than originally proposed, one that would prioritize the spirit of sport. “Are you talking about Super League? Yes, but no. Super League is a closed league and that’s what I’m against. 14, 16 or 30 players. In Super League, there are a lot of people leaving.” Brands like Aston Villa, West Ham, Betis, Sevilla and Roma will disappear and the value of those teams will all be zero. And these leagues will no longer exist. In the end the great teams will get the most value, but you’re thinking, “It’s going to destroy an important part of football. If you reduce your calendar, you will continue to compete and your future will depend on their results.”The benefits of the sport should be prioritized, and that is what I believe. That’s why I’m against Super League, but I think the calendar needs to be changed,” argued the Catalan businessman.
“What I am clear about is that what Barça and Madrid are trying to do in the Super League is that at least people realize that they cannot continue on this path.”
picket According to him, he is embarking on important changes because the current distribution of La Liga is having a negative impact on the two big leagues and is therefore interested in betting on Super League.. “Do you think there will be dramatic changes?” I think there will be changes, but I don’t know how dramatic they will be. What I am clear about is that what Barça and Madrid are trying to do in the Super League is to at least make people understand that they cannot continue on this path. There is other evidence as well, which has a positive impact on me, because I am capable of more. What makes this claim possible is the fact that television rights are distributed. 2 billion has been distributed, but some clubs say it doesn’t make sense to take that money because they have spectators. Andorra is a very extreme case, if they move up to the first division they will be guaranteed 50 million rights, while Barça and Madrid will get 150 million rights if they have 100,000 times as many fans. That unfairness doesn’t seem right to me, they would say there are clubs who make a living off of them. There are games in the first division that most people don’t watch, and you can see that the casts are very similar. “I’ve already said that all the greats of Europe want to do something like this.”
In this sense, he believes that the model established in La Liga benefits smaller teams but harms larger ones.. “In La Liga, the majority agrees, except for the two big clubs who have different ideas. We understand that there can’t be a big difference between the big teams and the small teams. Otherwise ‘Cause other teams can’t compete. But that’s the problem.” I go, “You don’t have to go for a 20-team league, you have to go for something more premium, even if it’s 12 teams.” is just as strong in the league. And a fairer distribution is more reasonable. The team is “I don’t want to say their names so as not to bother anyone, so I’m talking about Andorra. If Andorra go up, they obviously benefit from being in the First Division.” “The appeal of Madrid and Barça. But without Barça and Madrid, Andorra’s value would be zero. .Currently, cakes are not well distributed,” he explained.
Pique was a supporter of American sports. “I like it better than the European game and it’s fascinating to watch. But when you break it down to an economic level, you see it’s a better structure for the franchise. At the European level, it’s all about the players. “Barça and Madrid are at the same time. In the long run they will not be able to compete. This is the proof. In the United States, the money is divided equally among 30 franchises. “They’re going to structure it in such a way that it’s fairly distributed.” “It’s very protected. And if they think the business isn’t structured well, they’ll go on strike and get a little more margin. What’s going on in Europe? Each league has different regulations. La Liga has a very strict fair play, other leagues have a different system. “And in Europe, those They have to compete against teams, and the lack of regulations regarding fair play leaves them exposed to clubs that pay them more money in other ways, which ultimately means that Barça and Madrid will not be able to compete. We are moving towards the fact that in five years Barça and Madrid will not be able to compete in Europe. It’s either regulated or they don’t compete by the same rules. And this is regulated in the United States,” he reasoned.
Finally, Pique made it clear that Barça and Madrid continue to compete with provincial clubs because they are in debt. But we can’t go back to that path except for Super League or equal fair play for everyone in Europe.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t have any European competitions to play and only play domestic competitions. The moment you make the leap and all the clubs are not regulated by the same rules, that’s when there is an imbalance.” Why will Barça and Madrid compete? Because they are in debt. They will have to become a joint stock company. Madrid is better so it will take more time. Super League and European Financial・It’s different unless there’s fair play.” ”
Source: Diario.Elmundo
