There isn’t complete parity in the Premier League, but it’s clear to see why there’s no chance in hell someone will make that mistake about the Spanish La Liga, which continues to be a two (and maybe three sometimes) league most of the time because of the way TV money is distributed among the teams.
This season, in which Real Madrid and Barcelona have a title-race running mate isn’t normal. Atletico Madrid were close as well last season but fell short. This year it seems like they’re in it for the long haul (unless they’re recent losses are suggesting it’s time to say goodbye to their championship hopes).
But does it mean the league is in a healthy situation? No. Not when Real Madrid and Barcelona account for almost 50% of the money given by television to the teams, with Barcelona and Real Madrid each making almost 12 times more than the teams making the least amount of money off the TV deals.
In England, as you can see, things are quite different. Yes, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal are on TV more and get a bigger piece of the pie, but Manchester United made less than twice as much as QPR did in that season. It might not be the perfect, equal sharing system as we see in the North American leagues, but it’s a lot better than the situation in Spain.
Revenue sharing is about making the league healthier. It’s in Barcelona’s and Real Madrid’s best interests to share a bit more of the money if they have any kind of concern for the state of the local leagues. Having the Champions League makes them feel like the problems of the minnows in Spain do not concern them, and going by the logic of the TV contracts coming just because of them might make them right, but this shouldn’t be about each team taking care of itself. Maybe Barcelona and Real Madrid do deserve a bigger piece of the pie, but not this big.