The Spanish Football Crisis

Abstract

This article analyses the economic results of Spanish professional football teams using data collected over the past few years. These data differ substantially from the information presented in the annual reports of the “Liga de Fútbol Profesional” (Spanish professional football league), which are obtained from the initial budgets elaborated each season. Special attention is paid to the two most important teams in the Spanish league: Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The results of this research show that Spanish football has the same problems as those evidenced by the Italian and English football leagues and, therefore, requires similar solutions in order to be able to survive in forthcoming years.