La Liga president believes stadiums will be full by November  

Express News Service

KOCHI: The majority of La Liga matches might have been played in empty stadiums across Spain since the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus, but league president Javier Tebas feels that they will again be full from November.

“I think that we will be able to start the season with 60 per cent capacity. Of course, some areas of Spain will have more and some less. But by November or December we should be at 100 percent capacity when it comes to fans in the stadium,” he said during a virtual media interaction on Wednesday.

The return of the fans will help the clubs with gate revenues and stabilise their finances, but Tebas feels that the league is financially healthy even otherwise.

Meanwhile, Tebas could not avoid questions about the future of some of the top football stars who have been the faces of La Liga over the years.

While Sergio Ramos has already left Real Madrid, Lionel Messi still hasn’t made any commitment about his future.

When asked if losing these superstars would affect the league, Tebas believes that the league is more than just about the players.

“We want Messi to stay at Barcelona but not for commercial purposes but because he has such a strong association with the club and he has been with them since the beginning,” he said.

Barcelona have in fact made some notable signings with both Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay joining on free transfers.

While these are big-name arrivals, offering a new deal to Messi would put a strain on Barcelona’s wage bill as they try to adhere to the financial fairplay rules set for La Liga.

Tebas is of the opinion that the rules are the same for Barcelona as they are for other clubs.

“La Liga has its rules and Barcelona knows that. They know that they have to lower their salary costs by a lot. Messi is the same as Sergio Aguero or anyone else that they are adding. We will not make any exception for Messi to stay here. They know what they are doing. This is a long game and they have seen opportunities in the market and taken them. Some of the clubs recruit and then sell while others sell and then make the recruitment,” he said.

Tebas also once again spoke out against the European Super League and reiterated that it was not the way forward and that starting a breakaway league was not the solution to everything.