MLS and Apple are big winners with Lionel Messi, as they will likely see a jump in viewers and subscribers. However, there might be no denying that ESPN, who owns La Liga’s rights in the United States, would have wanted Messi on their network.
Nonetheless, while La Liga would have benefitted from the return of the Argentine, having Messi back in the Spanish top league was atop Javier Tebas’ priorities.
The league chief is more concerned about the clubs finances rather than a short burst of income that Messi might provide to La Liga’s value.
“Every year we are with the same story and what would worry me is having clubs with financial problems,” Tebas said (h/t Mundo Deportivo). “What would really worry me is, as it happens in England, that the English government makes a white paper on football in that country that says that They are oversized and have a lot of expenses and that many clubs have gone or may go bankrupt.
“I would also worry, as happens in Italy, that they have to ask the State for a tax deferral of 700 million euros, or I would. It would worry [me], as it happens in France, to be the league that loses the most in all the clubs.”
Over the next few months, many reports will reveal Messi’s economic impact on MLS and Inter Miami. The Argentine has already influenced the South Florida-based club’s social media accounts as his arrival as seen Inter Miami receive a boost on that end.
Nonetheless, Tebas would exchange that to ensure teams in La Liga are running probably from a financial perspective and not getting themselves in economic trouble.
