Spanish Clubs in Danger

The Spanish economy is in the tank with a possible Greece-like tumble not hard to imagine, which is why  new austerity measures have begun to hit Spanish football. This new economic push, specifically a new protocol for the reduction and control of debt in Spanish football, puts all but four clubs Barcelona, Espanyol, Real Madrid and Sevilla in danger of yes, relegation.

Half the clubs are in a very critical situation according José María Gay, professor of Economics and Accounting from the University of Barcelona. Other clubs like Getafe and Athletic Bilbao have put a handle on outstanding debt, but on the far-end of any reasoned, austere motives to control their finances is Atletico Madrid, who lead the table of all debtor clubs in Spain. An internal study puts their global debt at around 183 million, but if you factor in the 155 million euros they owe the Spanish Treasury in unpaid taxes then that figure fails to gel. Some speculate that club debt could actually be closer to 700 million which could mean the selling off of some star players. I don't include Radamel Falcao Garcia in that mis because he's owned by the hedge fund ( the Doyen Group) that is run by super-agent Jorge Mendes whose clients include Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Roaldo.

In the past the Spanish government has been very liberal with allowing the amounts of deficit spending and then adjusting payments over time, but at least publicly that doesn't seem to be the case today. Now the General Council for Sport in Spain are warning clubs that the tide has changed. "The public does not want to hear that clubs in Spain aren't paying their debts." I've heard this sort of rhetoric before, we all think that Spanish clubs will once again squeak past this, but what if this really is another Greece situation?