Seven important football clubs playing in the Spanish Liga will have to return the money received in recent years to their government as it is considered by Brussels to be "illicit state aid". In the eye of the storm teams like Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Athletico Osasuna, Elche and Hercules, but above all Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, made the EU decision known following an investigation carried out on numerous Iberian and Dutch companies. However, the latter (four in all) will not have to proceed with any reimbursement since the aid has been considered compatible.
The decision refers to the tax regime that the Spanish government has applied to the famous clubs, but also to a land sale transaction by Real Madrid. Florentino Pérez's company will have to return around 18,2 million euros to the Capitoline municipality.
“Using taxpayers' money to finance professional football clubs – established the EU – can constitute unfair competition. Professional football is a commercial activity involving significant sums of money and must respect the rules of fair competition. The subsidies we investigated in these cases did not comply with them".
In fact, from a fiscal point of view, Spanish clubs have enjoyed favorable treatment for two decades, paying much lower taxes than normal since they are considered as "non-governmental organizations". A paradox for Brussels which considered these favors to be completely "unjustified".
Brussels also established that the public guarantees granted on the loans obtained by Velencia, Hercules and Elche gave the three clubs undue advantages over the other companies which, however, did not benefit from any concessions.
