La Liga president Javier Tebas has been a busy man. Hosting matches amidst strict protocols in such unprecedented times has been a learning experience for Tebas, who spoke virtually with media persons on the lessons he has learnt from the pandemic besides sharing his views on Lionel Messi, the proposed Super League and the broadcasting strategy for India. Excerpts.
As the La Liga president, what are your lessons from the pandemic?
That you have to make a lot of decisions in different areas. I never thought it would be healthcare related, competition protocols to be able to play matches etc. Important decisions have to be taken very quickly. We can't leave them entirely to speculation. We should not be worried about having to make certain decisions depending on the situation. Those are the lessons we have learned. Maybe you should always be ready for such extraordinary circumstances, which will arise.
Could the Barcelona, Messi situation have been handled better earlier in the season?
It is difficult for me to answer. I need to have more data. I don't know how many meetings they had. How many meetings did Messi have with Barcelona? It is very difficult to know all these things. Secondly, you have to remember we are talking about human relationships, people's characters. We are not talking about machines, but people, their moods at different times. So I really do not know the mood of the chairman of Barcelona, Messi and people around him (during the time)...I am afraid I can't say any more.
Barcelona is undergoing a financial crisis, and reports suggest players are yet to get their payments in December...
FC Barcleona, like big clubs, have their own payment methods. And I do not think it is about non-payments. Anyways, in general terms, Barcelona are more worried about... not having a chairman at the moment, their elections getting delayed and it is important for them to have executives and a chairman to make a decision.
With Messi's future uncertain, what would it mean if he is not playing in La Liga next season?
Well, as the best player in the world, I would like Messi to stay at La Liga. We have had previous examples like these. We had Neymar, he left for France, but I have not seen the French league improve in the international market. (Cristiano) Ronaldo went to Juventus, and I have not seen the international markets change. Yes, I would prefer the likes of Messi, Neymar and such great players to play in the La Liga, but it is not a determining factor. We have been working for years so that the La Liga is above clubs and players in all aspects.
What is the La Liga's stand on Fifa's threat to players that they will be banned from the World Cup and other tournaments if they join the proposed Super League?
We totally agree. We are against this Super League and we have been saying this for years now. It will be harmful for the national leagues. I can talk about this a lot, but I am against it. So, we are very pleased with the FIFA press release where they are against this league. I also think (FIFA president) Gianni Infantino should make some things clear. I have also heard that he was also behind this project..
The last time La Liga club side -- Gerona -- visited India was in 2017. Is it possible for big teams to come and play exhibition matches in India?
It is possible. These clubs have a lot of commitments. For example Barcelona and Real Madrid, had it not been for the pandemic, they had their calendar chalked out. You have to take into account the technical issues. We cannot do a lot about that, but yes, we do have the intention and we like to work on these kinds of matches. We would like to go to India. I am sure we will achieve this. We have to see the right time. India is not as far as many other countries, which means it is more viable.
Can you talk about La Liga's broadcast strategy in India?
India is a market, where we have Facebook and we have worked on a special model for the audio visual. It is a social media (channel) that is broadcasting football matches and now we are looking at the tender. In the Indian market, the priority is not actually the amount of money. I can tell you that. We want to see the treatment and the exposure that we will have with our product. The tender has got a lot of new things and there could be a situation where several people could win the legal rights in India.