There are four La Liga clubs that remain owned by fans, but they are competing in very different fashions. That much has been made clear by Osasuna General Director Fran Canal, who notes that the other trio tend to represent challenges for Los Rojillo.
Real Madrid and Barcelona remain fan-owned, despite plans from Real Madrid President Florentino Perez to move Los Blancos away from a members ownership model. Meanwhile Athletic Club, the major power in the north are also owned by members, as are Osasuna. They do not see eye to eye on many issues though, as Canal explained to Football España.
“Real Madrid and Barcelona tend to have a bad relationship with La Liga and with the rest of clubs in the division. And yes, they are benefitted by the referees,” he noted, amid complaints about the officiating from Los Blancos.
In terms of academy recruitment, Canal also explained that hanging onto players in the face of competition from Real Madrid and Barcelona, with the former recently recruiting 11-year-old talent Aleksander Chobanov from the Osasuna academy after a single season there. However he also describes Athletic as the ‘big shark’ in the region, with Los Leones currently counting Oihan Sancet, Inaki Williams, Nico Williams and Adama Boiro, all who hail from Pamplona.
Canal was willing to wait and see how the restructuring of European competitions by UEFA plays out in terms of the share of prize money, with many wondering if the bigger clubs are might be receiving an even bigger slice of the pie than before.
“Is the money in Europe fairly shared? The majority of the money is from TV channels. They have changed the format, and we will have to see if the share is more or less even. We have to wait a few years to see.”
We hear this all the time… but it still all about demand. If the demand to view Osasuna is low, why should they get equal share of the TV revenue? Imagine a system where viewers can pick and pay for the teams they want to watch. Osasuna would hardly survive.
There are various reasons why certain teams succeed over others over the long term… and favouritism from referees is not a reliable planning method, so the more successful clubs are clearly doing something else. It is not just ‘stealing’ other teams players either.
What is probably missing is help from the Spanish league on how to successfully operate the club. Maybe a masterclass from Athletic or Real Madrid (definitely NOT Barca’s heart-stopping way of running a club). It takes time… but if the stones were laid out properly early on then the club benefits. Santiago Bernabeu is one such name to lay the foundations of the club.