Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola revealed in an interview that he wants La Liga president Tebas to take a leaf out of the Premier League's operating model. However, not to be outdone, Tebas hit back by claiming that the City group had lost up to a billion in consecutive seasons, accusing them of being a driver of inflation. He also questioned Guardiola on how many titles he could have won without City's financial boost.
Guardiola said in an interview with the Spanish media, "The management model of the Premier League is better than that of La Liga, and I hope Mr. Tebas will learn from it. Perhaps this will lead to better sales of his products. If it does, then the TV rights income will also increase, and Mr. Tebas knows this better than anyone. He is very smart and probably in La Liga, as long as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Valencia can attract more investment. It may look bad business to those who want to invest, but if the club owners are willing to invest without looking for a return, then what's the problem?"
Tebas retweeted Guardiola's interview tweet and responded, "Mr. Pep from the Premier League, I'm learning every day. It would be great if England could teach you about the economics of soccer, the impact of state investment in clubs on pay inflation, demographics, pay TV penetration, the Chinese market, etc."
Facing Tebas' sarcasm, Guardiola shot back, "In the past two decades, La Liga teams have achieved brilliant success in Europe, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia have all won the title. Aragonés and Vicente del Bosque established the Spanish dynasty, and Messi and Cairo became superstars like never before. These achievements have earned the respect of the world. But the problem is state owned investment clubs and you know a lot about that. I can't read macroeconomics and other things you talk about, which is why I need you to tell me why La Liga soccer is still so far removed from the Premier League after such a glorious period."
Tebas, after seeing Guardiola's retort, pointed directly at City and Guardiola, responding, "You don't understand in this area, so I'll explain. The distance between La Liga and the Premier League is closing, especially when we have only seven years of history of selling TV rights. Mind you, the Premier League has been doing this for twenty years. Furthermore, the population of England is 20 million more than Spain. I'd say our clubs have been profitable for seven years, you should be more worried about the Manchester City group, which has lost up to a billion in recent seasons. These aren't investors, they're inflation-creating saboteurs. How many titles could you win without their 'economic doping'?"
