Tebas: More talent in La Liga, but…

La Liga chief Javier Tebas believes “the best players are already in” Spanish football but admits “the Premier League could become the NBA of football”.

Speaking to BBC Sport on Thursday, Tebas affirmed La Liga had to “work harder in the TV right market and in the sponsorship market” in order to prevent the Spanish top tier from falling behind the Premier League, which he likened to the monopoly enjoyed by the NBA in basketball.

“We hope to grow so the Premier League does not become the biggest competition in the world and we can be at the same level economically,” he told BBC Sport.

“We do not want the Premier League as a leader, one step ahead of the rest.

“If we fail to do this [compete economically], the Premier League could become the NBA of football and that would not be good not for us, not for the sport.

“We plan to work harder in the TV rights market and in the sponsorship market to get more money.

“The economic crisis made the clubs here utilise their capital better in selecting players.

“When you have less you have to work to find cheaper talent in the market. In this, Spanish football has done pretty well.

“Barcelona and Real Madrid, but also other clubs like Sevilla, Valencia and Villarreal, took advantage of this market.

“The crisis taught Spanish football to work harder to find talent, whereas the Premier League had it easier and didn’t have to work as hard for this.

“The Premier League can pay the managers more money than they can get in La Liga.

“The best players are already in the Spanish League, but the risk is there, and it is a challenge that we have.

“[Leicester City’s title challenge] is magnificent. It is literally a miracle what Leicester are doing and that they will qualify for the Champions League.

“That demonstrates that football is not all about the money, and that is a very positive thing.”

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La Liga - Club News