Unprecedented move to end Liga’s spendthrift ways

The president of the government’s Superior Sports Council, Miguel Cardenal, and Professional Football League (LFP) chief José Luis Astiazarán on Wednesday unveiled a new economic regulation for Spanish clubs that demands budgetary solvency in order to enter the transfer market.

The model, which will come into force in the 2013-14 season, allows for the clubs’ budgets to be examined before the competition begins. If a club is in the red, the LFP will not issue the necessary documentation for a new signing to be registered. By the terms of the regulation, the clubs must submit their budgetary information on April 30 and none will be able to sign a player if the cost would exceed a club’s stated wage bill.

Cardenal said the new rules signify a “deep cultural change” that will “act as a tool to address some of the biggest problems facing Spanish football.”

“This is a system that goes beyond Uefa’s Financial Fair Play,” added Astiazarán in reference to the European soccer body’s rules aimed to prevent clubs spending beyond their means.