La Liga President Javier Tebas confirmed “Spain and other European countries are considering a return on May 28” from the coronavirus lockdown, but warns even signing Lionel Messi “won’t solve Serie A’s problems.”
Tebas held a video conference call with international journalists, including La Gazzetta dello Sport, who published his comments on the resumption of football.
La Liga President Javier Tebas confirmed “Spain and other European countries are considering a return on May 28” from the coronavirus lockdown, but warns even signing Lionel Messi “won’t solve Serie A’s problems.”
Tebas held a video conference call with international journalists, including La Gazzetta dello Sport, who published his comments on the resumption of football.
“At the moment, we in Spain and other European countries are considering a return on May 28, or alternatives June 6 or June 28. Obviously, with these dates there’s time to resume training and respecting the protocol of physical activity that we have also sent out to other leagues, including Serie A.
“First, we must see what happens in April. We wouldn’t want to go beyond August for the conclusion of the 2019-20 season, as it’s obvious all this will affect next term’s fixture list.
“We are studying three possibilities. The first, if we get back to playing by the end of May, is to play the national competitions in June and the international ones in July.
“The second is that if we start in early June, we play all the competitions together until the end of July. The third option, returning at the end of June, would see us play league competitions in July and European cups in August.”
Some clubs in Serie A are calling for the whole season to be cancelled, but Tebas warned that is “only a nightmare scenario. Funnily enough, the only clubs who don’t want to play are bottom of the table or fighting to avoid relegation. Clearly, there’s a conflict of interests and it should not even be considered until it becomes impossible to play.
“In economic terms, not finishing the 2019-20 season would cost La Liga €1bn. If we finish behind closed doors, the cost is €350m. If we play with fans, the losses would still be €150m.
“As for the TV rights, La Liga have already pocketed 90 per cent of the total. If we don’t play again, we’d have to give up the remaining 10 per cent along with another 18 per cent already paid.”
Tebas was asked about reports Inter were trying to tempt Messi to leave Barcelona for Serie A, but he seemed at best unimpressed, at worst insulting.
“I don’t think Messi’s arrival could resolve Serie A’s problems, which are tied to their terrible relation between high debts and insufficient revenue. The Serie A figures are under real financial stress and Leo Messi can’t fix those problems.
“I’d like Messi to remain here, but if he did leave, it wouldn’t be a tragedy. People said La Liga would lose money if Cristiano Ronaldo left, but instead we earned more, even in Portugal. Big stars help, but are not essential for a league.”