LFP Defends Real Madrid €540m Debt

The Spanish Football League (LFP) has confirmed that Real Madrid’s debt stands at €541 million, but has defended the club, stating their “excellent financial management”.

A Real Madrid fan’s group has been attracting media attention lately after claiming that president Florentino Perez was hiding the true extent of the club’s debt. The club’s financial report for the 2012-13 season stated that the club’s net debt dropped by 27.4% to €90.6 million. The fan group, ‘Asociacion por los Valores del Madridismo’, claimed that Real’s debt actually stood at more than €500 million. 

The LFP has now confirmed that Madrid’s debt stands at €541 million, though they have stated their belief that the club’s ability to generate income allows it to manage this debt. According to Spanish newspaper Diario AS, the league said that UEFA takes net debt into account for their Financial Fair Play regulations, and Madrid’s net debt is 18% of the permitted amount , “which shows the financial excellence of the club”. 

The league also confirmed Madrid has no debt with the tax authorities.

The LFP added: “The club has the capacity to deal with the debt and the figures show that Madrid is economically solvent, within the economic controls established.”

Real Madrid and Barcelona together account for €900 million of the €3.6 billion total debt owed by Spanish clubs as of July 30, 2012. The LFP want this total figure to be reduced to €2.4 billion in 2014 and €2 billion by 2017.

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