Osasuna’s General Director Fran Canal has sent a strong response to reports that Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona chose to give up €200k each for Osasuna, who were originally set to earn just €0.9m guaranteed, out of €40m that the Spanish Football Federation receive for hosting the Spanish Supercup in Saudi Arabia. Canal pointed out that the money was also theirs, as they were competing in the competition.
Canal began with an element of frustration, explaining that they were unable to count on the same advantages as their competitors.
“We are surprised and disappointed because we do not understand why in the last few hours news has come out related to the money that Osasuna will receive for participating in the 2024 Super Cup. First of all, we understand that the club must try to receive the highest amount for participating. in this competition for which the RFEF, as it is public, receives €40m. We are aware that we do not have the cachet of the other three participants because we are a team that has to live with the limitations that our own structure gives us,” Canal told SER Navarra.
"It cannot be said that we have gotten money by asking. We have obtained what we consider to be fair. We have to receive what Valencia and Betis did."@osasuna_en GM Fran Canal has responded to news that the Supercup sides 'gave up' money for them.pic.twitter.com/uDr9fTbqyl
— Football España (@footballespana_) January 11, 2024
Canal continued on, saying that the increase in money was not out of the goodness of the big three’s collective heart, but rather Los Rojillo getting back some of what they have every right to.
“It cannot be said that we have gotten money by asking. We have obtained what we consider to be fair. We have to receive what Valencia and Betis did. We understood that what we were going to earn was insufficient and we asked for an amount that we understand to be the minimum, and amounts to €1.95m fixed, with €250k more in case we reach the final, and €500k if we win.”
❤️🔥 Tomorrow, we have a meeting with history. It won't be easy, but we have learned to fight in our 103-year history.
Let's get after it. We are Osasuna!#LetsGoRojillos | #BarçaOsasuna pic.twitter.com/XQSoJmLUwV
— C. A. OSASUNA (@osasuna_en) January 10, 2024
“It is very important to understand that, for a budget of €40m, as this tournament has, €1.95m is not an audacious request. We have to think that, as strange as it may seem, Osasuna can think, just like in the Cup final, that we can win the title and, if we won it, we would receive €2.7m, less than 7% of the budget. I think it’s enough about teams having to ‘give money up’. We understand that the money belongs to all four of us. We have decided to maintain an institutional silence, but we are tired because it seems that we are receiving someone’s charity.”
“We do not beg, we do not have social capital or use levers. We respect everyone, we believe that the competition is great. We are small but big in terms of spirit and we are the team that has brought the most here.”
There is no doubt that the Spanish football pyramid is rigged to favour the big fish, and the exchange of €600k being made available to Osasuna being painted as a good deed verges on the absurd. In his pre-match press conference, Osasuna manager Jagoba Arrasate noted that ‘we know how this is set up’, when commenting on his disappointment that their fans would not see the image. His words were another hint that Osasuna feel a large part of the Supercup is also geared towards ensuring the big two, if not three, benefit.
Don’t blame him a bit. They qualified and made the trip. The payouts should be equal, no matter who’s involved.