Manchester United can make Erik ten Hag's summer transfer mission easier against Barcelona

The next couple of weeks could be a little awkward for La Liga president Javier Tebas, a figure who has led the fight against the riches of the Premier League and also managed to anger his own league’s biggest clubs.

Tebas is a one-man quote machine on the financial disparity between Premier League clubs and the rest of Europe, saying as recently as last month that the league was “not financially sustainable”, although Manchester United and their three loan signings might be evidence not every club has splashed the cash as wildly as Chelsea.

But if Tebas is trying to represent the interests of his own league, he’s also been critical of Real Madrid and Barcelona, particularly over their breakaway attempts with the European Super League and the financial problems at the Nou Camp.

READ MORE: Dressing room transformation summed up by new signing

Tebas’ loyalties will lie in Madrid and Barcelona over the next month, however, when two iconic European fixtures take place. The only shame is that United vs Barcelona is the Europa League, rather than the Champions League.

It is Europe’s premier competition where Liverpool meet Real Madrid, a re-run of last season’s final and possibly the last Champions League fixture taking place at Anfield for a while.

These games again feel like a referendum on the shift in the balance of power between England and Spain. The cash is in the Premier League now, but there remains a romance in heading to the Bernabeu or the Nou Camp.

It does feel like that is beginning to change, however. Erling Haaland opted for the Premier League and Manchester City last summer and United have signed Raphael Varane and Casemiro from Real over the past 18 months.

They also pushed hard to sign Frenkie de Jong from