A club small in size but big in heart, Osasuna have perhaps punched above their weight for many years. What they have lacked in quality they have made up for in passion but after flirting with relegation many times, this season it was one too many for Los Rojillos.
Usually a stable club, the El Sadar outfit have been in La Liga for 14 years and while often found towards the bottom of the table, they have managed to reach the heights of 4th in La Liga, the final of the Cup and the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. Their academy is highly regarded and has produced the likes of Raul Garcia, Nacho Monreal and Cesar Azpilicueta.
They have lost star after star yet have always replaced the departures on a shoestring budget but after so much stability and success, the club find now themselves in turmoil.
Despite beating Real Betis on the final day the game was overshadowed by a collapse in the stadium that left many fans injured and since then the news has got worse and worse. Coach Javi Gracia mutually agreed to leave the club following their relegation but that was just the start.
Like many clubs in Spain, they struggle to balance the books and the relegation from the top flight means a drastic loss in TV revenue, going from around €22m to just €2.5m in Liga Adelante. The club reportedly find themselves in over €100m debt and following this news, the players reported that they had not been fully paid.
The Navarra club owe around €7m to players and staff which must be paid before July 31, otherwise the club face the threat of being relegated to Segunda B. Amongst great discontent the president Miguel Archanco put his position up for a vote amongst the board. Archanco's departure was confirmed after he submitted the club's viability plan to pay off the debts, which leaves the club without a President.
As if things could not get worse, the club hit rock bottom last week as the electricity was cut off at the stadium after bills went unpaid. The issue was quickly resolved but it's a decisive summer for the club.
Osasuna are likely to raise the funds to pay the players and staff by July 31 with the likes of Andres, Alejandro Arribas, Raoul Loe, Emiliano Armenteros and Oriol Riera attracting interest from clubs. The long-term future of the club remains a more pressing concern.
Relegated, without a Coach or a President, in huge financial trouble and with a squad likely to be ripped apart, it cannot get much worse. The club’s long-term future is the main concern for some of Spain's most passionate supporters, who deserve better. A huge summer of rebuilding is needed and hopefully Osasuna come out the other side. But they are not alone in Spain as many clubs struggle to survive.
