LALIGA boss Javier Tebas has confirmed plans to restart European football on May 29 at the earliest.
Games could reportedly take place every 72 hours across the Spanish top-flight with the season potentially ending with a standalone period of Champions League and Europa League matches.
Spanish footy chief Javier Tebas is hoping to restart LaLiga late next monthCredit: EPA
Football bosses are desperately formulating an exit plan out of the coronavirus pandemic despite there being little sign of the continent escaping lockdown.
Most leagues were suspended just under a month ago and are set to remain that way for as many as 11 more weeks under current plans.
Addressing international reporters in a teleconference on Tuesday, LaLiga president Tebas outlined three start dates under consideration across European football.
He said: “Of all the different scenarios we have been looking at with Uefa to go back to competing, the most probable ones are May 28, June 6 or June 28.
“We can’t say an exact date. This will be given to us by the authorities in Spain. But we still have time to get back to training before that.
“If we start LaLiga on May 28, the Champions League would be in July.
“By the end of the season we would not want to go beyond the month of August, and it is obvious that all this will affect the schedule for the next season.
“Two possibilities are under consideration. The first is to play domestic and European competitions at the same time.
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“The second is to start with the domestic games, in early June with the hope of finishing in July, and then completing the European cups between July and August.”
With losses described as around £900million if the LaLiga season is cancelled at this stage, Tebas insisted game bosses across the continent are “not contemplating” that outcome.
However he pointed the finger at certain teams who might benefit from calling it a day for disrupting unity on this matter.
The 57-year-old added: “It is curious, by chance, that the clubs who want to end the season now are the ones from the bottom of the league, the ones that are fighting relegation.
“I can assure you that no major or mid-season championships intend to cancel their season, whoever talks about it does so for personal interests.”
Finishing the season behind closed doors is predicted by the Spanish top-tier president to account for £260m of lost revenue with £130m already written off regardless due to the pandemic.
Club bosses hope providing something of a football bonanza in the summer will go some way to repairing that damage.
El Chiringuito report of plans to play games every 72 hours to ensure the 2019-20 season is completed in good time once safe to do so, ensuring minimal disruption to the next campaign.
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Barcelona are one team in particular danger in the pandemic’s financial crisis, recently cutting players and directors’ pay by 70 per cent.
That has increased rumours of a mass exodus from Camp Nou in the summer but Tebas is not concerned about any impact on LaLiga from Lionel Messi’s future.
The Costa Rican noted: “I would like Messi to stay here, but if he leaves it would be no drama.
“It was said that, without Cristiano Ronaldo, LaLiga would lose money. Instead we have made more, even in Portugal. Players help but are not essential to a league.”
Former club president of Real Madrid Lorenzo Sanz dead at 76 after testing positive for coronavirus and having a week-long fever
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
