Known in France as the sworn enemy of Paris Saint-Germain, although less fierce in recent times, Javier Tebas, the president of the Spanish football league, announced his resignation on Wednesday. This, in order to run for a fourth term in new elections, on a date which remains to be determined. “A few minutes ago I presented my resignation as president of LaLiga, before the end of my mandate, which ended on December 23,” he said on his official Twitter account.
“A new electoral process will open in which I will present myself again. I will therefore ask for the approval and confidence of the clubs to meet the challenges we face,” he added in this message. The resignation of Javier Tebas marks the start of a process, with the constitution this Wednesday of an Electoral Commission responsible for organizing the vote, the Spanish league said in a press release.
Javier Tebas, 61, is for the moment the only candidate for his succession and aspires to a fourth consecutive mandate at the head of the entity he has led since 2013. Pending the elections, LaLiga will be managed by the vice-presidents. presidents of the body, Miguel Angel Gil Marin, the boss of Atlético Madrid, and Quico Catalán, that of Levante.
A staunch opponent of the Super League
Former president of Huesca, Javier Tebas is known for having reformed the system of television rights for Spanish football in 2015 by centralizing their marketing, while each club negotiated separately with the broadcasters. He was also at the initiative of creating financial fair play stricter than that imposed by UEFA, limiting clubs’ spending to the amount of what they earn.
This system was recently relaxed in the face of criticism from many teams, including FC Barcelona, failing to validate their recruits. The Spanish leader is also in open war with several major European clubs, such as Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, who according to him distort the market “with money which is not generated by football” but by foreign state actors. He is also firmly opposed to the European Super League project, which would compete with the Champions League.