LaLiga: "We'd like to see the Saudi players in action"
LaLiga's corporate director Javier Gomez admitted that a similar strategy would be "unlikely in the future".
LaLiga's corporate director genareal Javier Gómez spoke in detail about two key areas affecting the ongoing expansion plans outlined by Javier Tebas.
LaLiga now tops the German Bundesliga which along with the English Premier League have been identified as key global rivals: “We've eclipsed the Bundesliga in terms of income and and now have the Premier League in our sights. Five years ago the Premier doubled that of LaLiga (5.100 million euro against 3.7M). The difference today is less than 1.500 million euro so we're on the right track. The dynamic of our business is important as it is in football, when you win five games back-to-back, you start to have more self belief. We're constantly growing and our brand is growing in value. This is something we need to maintain as it's paying dividends”.
Saudi imports
Gomez also reflected on the strategy to bring over a series of Saudi Arabian players to LaLiga. Despite none of the players having debuted for their respective first or second division clubs, the LaLiga executive was anxious to point out the new sponsorship deals their presence in the Spanish league has generated: “We're looking for long-term benefits and new sponsors have emerged which is good for the short-term. Our Saudi Arabian initiative has given us greater international profile. At the same time it's not easy to play in LaLiga. I remember how David Villa struggled when he joined when he arrived at Valencia. Of course we'd like to have seen the Saudi's get playing time but some projects are done for various motives and this has been positive for our visibility but I'm not sure if its a model we'd employ in the future”.
