Real Madrid close to deal to solve debt crisis
Real Madrid are close to finalising a deal for the sale of their city-centre training facilities wich will mean the club clears its huge debt of more than $250 million in one fell swoop.
President Florentino Perez speaks
Real Madrid are close to finalising a deal for the sale of their city-centre training facilities wich will mean the club clears its huge debt of more than $250 million in one fell swoop.
The scheme, which has been approved by the city's mayor Jose Maria Alvarez Manzano, was put before the regional government on Friday and is expected to get the go-ahead inside the next two months.
"Our aim is to build a great new training facility for Real Madrid and at the same time solve the debt problems of the club," said Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
The plan will also mean that the Madrid city council will be able to use the present Real training ground in order to build a state-of-the-art sports stadium which will act as the centre-piece of the city's proposed bid for the 2012 Olympics. According to the terms of the deal, Real Madrid will retain the rights over a section of the land, which it will be able to sell for office construction.
Reports suggest the money raised from the sale and the construction of four giant office blocks on part of the site would wipe out the club's debts at a single stroke. The club would still have enough cash left over from the sale to build a completely new training facility on cheaper land on the edge of the city, close to the main airport.
The plan is subject to further technical approval, but is expected to receive a final go-ahead. Perez made the sale of the training ground a key part of his election manifesto when he was campaigning for the presidency last July. He has since expressed his concern about the scale of Real's debts and has stated the need for urgent action if the club is to continue to function normally.
"The situation is truly bad," he said last September. The Real president, who authorised the spending of $56 million on the purchase of Luis Figo last July, has since concluded a series of marketing and image deals that have secured the short-term financial future of the club.