Madrid investigated again ???

**superflysi** · 5th March 2004

Dont know if anyone remembers a thread a good year back about how Madrid got out of going bust - well anyway I used to live their and the Atletico fans were always adamant that the club had been helped yet again by the government......... i got no doubt they will get away with this again but anyway --

The Indie reports:

�The property deal that helped Real Madrid pay for players
such as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham is being
looked into by the EU, who may order the club to repay some
of the money.

�Real's president, Florentino Perez, sold their 15-hectare
training ground in the heart of fashionable Madrid to city
and regional authorities for a staggering �290m in 2001. The
sale helped clear the club's �177m debt, and left enough to
pay unprecedented sums for Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo and
Beckham. But the European Commission suspects the price was
over-inflated and included a hidden public subsidy for what
has been seen since the Franco era as Spain's official state-
sponsored club.

�"We believe Madrid's regional authorities may have
overpaid," Tilman Luder, the EU's competition spokesman,
said yesterday in Brussels. He warned that the club may have
to pay back some money if the price exceeded the market
value.

�"We have sent a questionnaire to the Spanish government: to
find out why they bought this land, at what price, and if
they can prove it was at the market price. We suspect that
the purchase price was influenced by the fact that this
property had been reclassified, which increased its value,"
Luder said. If doubts remain, the EU may launch a formal
investigation.

�Madrid's city authorities and regional government
redesignated the 15-hectare green site for commercial use.
Property developers pounced on what became the most valuable
piece of land in Spain on the country's most expensive
street, Castellana Avenue, and the heart of the capital's
financial district.

**novaman** · 5th March 2004

i remember that.. the deal always seemed very suspicious indeed.. i also heard that once the training ground was bought by the authorities, it was immediately leased back to Real for their own use! guess there was only one winner in the deal...

**toto67** · 5th March 2004

I remember hearing something about that too..that they got bailed out yet
again as it would have been detremental to the tourist side of Madrid..
as it is a massive tourist attraction and a BIG part of Madrid...And obviously a club as big as Madrid being in this financial state..
There no surprise it is getting investigated....

**Shotgunjim** · 5th March 2004

I cant the government letting Madrid get hammered... When you mention Spain to anyone what do they think:

Matadors, bull fighting, Magaluf and REAL MADRID

**pratman** · 8th March 2004

i ehard that it was bought by local authorities and they jsut gave it back to madrid.............a gift so to speak.............but they got it for gratis after getting enough money to clear debts and buy more players

**superflysi** · 8th March 2004

No thats not quite right mate - they bought the land off Real Madrid (overpriced)- think they leased it to them for the season - and now they are looking at building a state of the art training centre - in the countryside surrounding Madrid. The new complex will also form part of facilities Madrid could offer if they get the Olympics they are bidding for ....