If Barcelona beat Malaga at home this weekend, a probable scenario given they have won every match at the Camp Nou in the League this season bar one, they will reach 100 points and equal the record that Real Madrid set just 12 months ago.
Although reaching a centenary of points in any League is clearly impressive, to celebrate this feat is to ignore the damning inequality within Spain’s top flight, and the ramifications for the other teams, as well as Barca and Madrid themselves.
The domination of the big two is nothing new in Spanish football. In fact, the first Liga in 1929 was won by Barca, with Madrid finishing second and the two clubs have gone on to win the most and second most titles through the League’s years. What has changed, though, is the extent of their hegemony. Even with the season they've had, if Madrid beat Osasuna this weekend they'll reach a points total that would have been good enough to win any of the Leagues between 1997-98 and 2007-08, but could still leave them 15 points of Barcelona this time around.
The unequal nature of the Division clearly has a big impact on its wellbeing. The two major television channels in Spain have been unable to pay clubs the money they promised when they signed contracts, because they have received much fewer subscribers than expected. Although everyone in Spain wants to watch El Clasico, few want to watch Atletico Madrid play Valencia. League President Javier Tebas has bemoaned the fact that La Liga earned far less money than the Premier League from TV rights, and the League’s inequality is clearly a factor in this.
The inequality in the League is also having a negative impact on the teams that benefit from it domestically. While Barca have no doubt been brilliant at times in the League this season – their 5-1 spanking of Real Sociedad on the opening day, their 3-1 win at Malaga and when they brushed Atletico aside 4-1 come to mind – there have been more than a few games where they have struggled – such as their narrow wins at Osasuna and Sevilla, and the home victories over Granada and Valencia – and would have dropped points had they been in a more competitive League.
When Tito Vilanova’s side really were put to the test they were punished. They could not beat Real Madrid in four competitive games, they were beaten away to Celtic and Milan, only overcame Paris Saint-Germain on away goals, and were destroyed by Bayern Munich. It was against the Bavarians that their defensive frailties were exposed the most, as it was one of the few times they were overpowered in midfield. It was also one of the few occasions when their attacking prowess could not paper over the cracks in their defence.
The same is true for Madrid, who only beat Manchester United thanks to the help of a sending off, and were blown away by Borussia Dortmund. They simply could not cope with a strong, quick team coming to attack them in that first leg in the Westfalenstadion, so used were they to picking off weaker teams in La Liga.
Much of the blame for the inequality must be shouldered by the League, which allows Barca and Madrid to take €120m each in television revenue, while the lowest earning clubs get around €15m. It is clearly no coincidence that eight of the 20 top-flight clubs are in administration or have had to restructure their debts when they receive so little money. Clubs that used to be able to compete with the top two, like Sevilla, Deportivo and Valencia, have had to sell their best players to break even or reduce debts, further worsening the competition.
Tebas said earlier in the month that he hoped the League would adopt a centralised, more equal form of television distribution by either 2015-16 or 2016-17, reducing Barca and Madrid’s ratio compared to the lowest earning clubs to 5:1, from the current ratio of 6.5:1.
It hardly inspires confidence in any revolution, and with the best players in Spain outside of the big two either set to join them or leave the country altogether, next season the only challenge left for Madrid and Barca will be to try and exceed 100 points.
