Financial divide killing Spanish football, say Villarreal

The growing financial disparity between Barcelona and Real Madrid and the rest of La Liga is killing Spanish football, according to Villarreal president Fernando Roig

Villarreal, through to the Champions League group stages, were thrashed 5-0 by Barca at the Nou Camp on Monday, a day after Real Madrid romped to a 6-0 victory at Real Zaragoza.
"If they only want to have two matches (Real v Barca), let them have two matches, but this isn't good for football," Roig told local media on Tuesday.
"I give it three or four years. Either this changes or we kill Spanish football."
After one round of games, Real top the standings on goal difference from European and Spanish champions Barca and if recent seasons are anything to go by these two sides will be the only realistic title challengers.
Barca won a third consecutive league crown in May with 96 points, four ahead of Real. Third-placed Valencia had 71 points and Villarreal were fourth with 62.
Villarreal, who operated on a budget of less than 70 million euros ($101.7 million) last season compared to Barca's of just under 430 million euros, have been one of the leading critics of the way money is distributed from television rights.
Barca and Real, the world's two richest clubs in terms of revenue, take around half the total pot of Spanish TV income of 600 million euros.
The remaining 18 teams earn far less than their peers in rival European leagues, where a system of collective bargaining allows for fairer cash distribution.
"The two biggest clubs steal the television revenues from the other teams," Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido told national radio.
"It's a league which only two teams can win, it's third-world," added Del Nido, another outspoken critic of the system.
Sevilla won their opening game 2-1 at home to Malaga but suffered financially damaging elimination from the Europa League in a playoff against Germany's Hanover 96 last week.