LaLiga president Javier Tebas has backed Dalian Wonga Group's plans for a Chinese rival to the Champions League.
The news will come as a big boost to Dalian – owned by property and entertainment conglomerate Wang Jianlin, China's richest man – who want to put China at the heart of the global sport.
The LaLiga chief, who is unhappy about the low TV revenues for LaLiga club's compared to their English counterparts, believes that such plans would increase revenue streams into Spanish football and boost the product.
“If [European club competition] is reorganised as Wanda has set out, there is a greater opportunity to generate more revenue from audiovisual broadcasting,” Tebas told the Financial Times, voicing his disconent with UEFA – who run the Champions League.
“We’ve also become more interested in the proposal since UEFA announced they will be reforming [the Champions League], without seriously consulting — in detail — their broader reform plans with the other national leagues.
“The idea of unifying the two tournaments is not a bad one, but what is clear is we have to work something out with all the different national leagues and Uefa is not doing it.
“[Uefa] have not managed to fend off the pressure from the big clubs and they folded.
“With our strategy, we will even overtake the Premier League in terms of international deals . . . Therefore, both Spanish and English football fans will be pleased, as they will both get the chance to watch their games across the world. So long as Uefa does not destroy our business.”
