Spanish clubs need to be more ambitious, CVC executive says

TARRAGONA, Spain: Spain's top clubs need to raise their expectations so they can fully monetise the potential business around soccer, a top executive from private equity firm CVC Capital Partners said on Wednesday.

The Luxembourg-based fund, which has signed a media rights deal with the Spanish professional soccer league La Liga for 1.99 billion euros ($2.13 billion) to boost modernisation of the clubs, believes the plan is going in the right direction but expects to see more results.

The deal has secured CVC an 8.2 per cent stake in a new company that will manage revenues from La Liga's broadcasting and sponsorship rights for 50 years.

La Liga confirmed on Tuesday that 915 million euros, half of the CVC investment, had already gone to the 38 top clubs which had agreed to accept the money and most of it would finance infrastructure projects and hiring new talent.

"The clubs need to be more ambitious," Juan Arbide, CVC senior managing director, said during a presentation to some 450 representatives of 38 La Liga clubs at a meeting in Tarragona on Wednesday.

"It is important that the clubs become more global and digital companies, and understand the profile of their fans.

"The priority should be collecting fans' data because is it the key for monetising the business around football for the long term."

LaLiga and CVC are encouraging Spanish clubs to use the funds to refurbish stadiums to attract more fans to games, increase social media followers and invest in technology to collect fans' data in order to be in a better position to negotiate the next television rights deal.

Almost a year after CVC acquired a 13 per cent stake worth 1.5 billion euros in France's Ligue 1 media rights business, it said that the French league was "10