January 9 – The Spanish Super Cup, held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, opened with a 2-0 victory for Barcelona over Athletic Club with two goals scored by Javi and Lamine Yamal, against the backdrop of protests against the unfair distribution of tournament revenues to the clubs. .
It is estimated that the Saudi funds allocated for the tournament amount to 40 million euros. The participation fees paid to the four competing clubs show huge differences.
It is understood that Real Madrid and Barcelona will receive between €5 million and €6 million each, while the rest of the teams are evaluated on a sliding scale with the lowest valuation starting at €750,000.
The calculation is based on sporting results, television viewers and the perceived value the clubs bring to the tournament.
“We hope that a fairer (distribution) system will be achieved,” Athletic Club President John Uriarte said on Monday. The Basques will receive no less than 1.5 million euros, or 4% of the 40 million euros that Saudi Arabia pays to the Spanish Federation.
In addition to the participation fees, the prize money amounts to 6.6 million euros, with the winner receiving 2 million euros, the loser receiving 1 million euros, and each of the semi-finalists receiving 800,000 euros.
Last year, Real Madrid received 7.5 million euros from the tournament and Barcelona 5.3 million euros. Of the Saudi salaries of 40 million euros, just over half goes to the clubs, while the rest goes to the Spanish Football Federation.
This is not the first time that ‘smaller’ clubs have complained about the unequal distribution of revenue, with Valencia, Real Betis and Osasuna all expressing concerns about fairness in the past.
Last year, Atletico Madrid earned €2.3 million in participation fees.
But it is not just a picture of the greed of the big clubs and federations. Madrid and Barcelona will each give €200,000 from their pool to Mallorca and Athletic Club to help with travel expenses, increasing their participation income to at least €1.3 million and €2 million. It is easy to appear generous with what Real Madrid and Barcelona consider to be just chump change.
This is the fifth time that the Super Cup has been held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A tour of the country has only been interrupted once when it was played in Spain during the Covid pandemic. The Super Cup will remain in Saudi Arabia until 2029. The money is likely to remain in large quantities with Real Madrid, Barcelona and the Spanish Football Federation.
Real Madrid begin their quest for more gold against Mallorca tonight.
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