Spanish Soccer Threatened By Rule Barring Hedge Funds From Buying Players

But I did the right thing for once!

Spain has little to cheer about vis-à-vis its economy. So it would like to keep cheering for its soccer teams. Unfortunately, its money malaise, combined with a new rule barring investors from buying a players’ transfer rights, threaten the quality of the teams it likes to cheer for. This will not do, Spain (and Portugal) hope the European Commission agrees.

Spain and Portugal’s soccer leagues filed a complaint to the European Commission challenging a FIFA ban on clubs selling the transfer rights of players to investors, three people familiar with the situation said….

Atletico Madrid CEO Miguel Angel Gil said in an interview last year that alternative financing had allowed his club to compete with richer rivals including Real Madrid and Barcelona, two of the world’s biggest clubs by sales.

Portugal, Spain Said to Complain to EU on Soccer Finance Rules [Bloomberg]