Seven Spanish clubs, including Real Madrid and Barcelona, will have to repay more than $75 million for tax breaks and loan deals deemed to gave them an unfair advantage in breach of EuropeanUnion state aid rules.
They included a $20 million tax break Real Madrid received when it sold land to the city of Madrid at a bargain price, cuts in the tax rate charged sports corporations andfavorable loan terms given to three Valencia area clubs.
“Using taxpayers’ money to finance professional football clubs can create unfair competition,” said EU competition commissionerMargrethe Vestager in a statement. “Professional football is a commercial activity with significant money involved and public money must comply with fair competition rules. The subsidiesinvolved in these cases did not.”