Barcelona’s struggle to register players has taken all the headlines this summer in Spain, but they are one of many in La Liga and Segunda that are taking extra measures to fit inside the rules.
Real Betis are considering activating their own ‘economic lever’, by selling off a percentage of their income from ticket sales in the coming years.
The latest example is Leganes. Los Pepineros were taken over by Blue Crow Sports this summer and were struggling to get players registered ahead of the Segunda season, but their new proprietors have come up with their own solution.
Blue Crow Sports will now become the main shirt sponsor for Leganes this season, according to Diario AS, as a way of injecting income into the club and ensuring it goes towards their salary limits. While on a greatly different scale and purpose, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have used similar schemes in the past. Even despite this injection, Leganes will be looking for low-cost loans to continue filling out their squad this season.
La Liga’s salary limits are a theoretically smart initiative and should help the sustainability of Spanish football. Still, the lengths some clubs are going to in order to circumvent these limits may still prove damaging for the clubs long-term.