LaLiga president: "Ronaldo leaving worries me 4 out of 10"
AS spoke exclusively with Javier Tebas, who is not too concerned about Ronaldo's departure and wished him well for the future.
AS this Tuesday spoke with president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, to get his opinion on the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid and how it could affect the Spanish league. And although Tebas would have preferred to see him stay in Spain, the president seemed less worried about his departure than previously expected.
“I said a few weeks ago… it would have worried me by 9 out of 10 five years ago. Today, it’s 4 out of 10. We have been working for years so that our league is on top with players and clubs in the style of the Premier League,” he told AS.
LaLiga TV rights deals growing
The LaLiga chief also highlighted that the price Telefonica paid for television rights for the 2019-2022 period (almost three billion euros) was greater than the cost of the last contract. LaLiga will earn 3.4 billion euros from television contracts over the next three years, with national earnings and international earnings rising 15 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
“We have renewed a lot of television contracts in the last few weeks and months and nobody has demanded that Cristiano or Messi had to stay in LaLiga,” he added.
A self-confessed Real Madrid fan, Tebas also recognised Ronaldo as one of the greatest players in history, thanked him for his nine years in Spain and wished him luck in the future: “We appreciate Cristiano for having played in what is the best league in the world.”