- Jan 13, 2015
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Alright, I know that this is just a what-if game (and some of you do need a little entertainment during the break), but considering some talk about elite clubs and the whole stance on the topic in Catalonia and Basque country (Both Barca and Bilbao booed the royal family.) The question does seriously have to be asked: If Catalonia became independent, what happens to FC Barcelona and La Liga?
It’s a very weird and serious one because the club and its fans are fully in support of Catalan independence, yet I can’t help but feel that while it is a noble cause, are they essentially signing their own ‘death warrant’ with it?
To state, we know Barca have their own chants about independence, and often other Spanish clubs have made their own in return (Spain is nice, why do you want to leave). Yet the club is eerily silent about the biggest question of all.
Look at it this way: If Catalonia became independent, and were forced to make their own league of at least 8 teams (so that Barca can play in the CL), the teams would be:
Barcelona (1)
Espanyol (1)
Girona (2)
Llagostera (2)
Nastic (2)
Cornella (3)
Reus (3)
Sabadell (3)
And that’s just a bog standard 8 team league. Do note there would likely be more teams for promotion and relegation purposes.
Catalonia has a population of 7.5m (Spain 47m), and a GDP of about 220m Euro (on a per capita basis, it is larger than Spain’s). So close to Serbia’s population with the GDP of Ireland (For the record, Serbia’s GDP is significantly less than Catalonia, but Ireland’s per capita is better, since Ireland only has half the population.) The country would be in the top 40 economy wise.
Of course, we’re ignoring the fact that for Catalonia to even have a place in the CL, they need to become a UEFA member, and you can bet there are more than a few countries that will not approve of Catalonia’s membership, (Spain, England, Serbia, Russia, ect) because of the implications of allowing such a country in the first place.
Alright, pretending all is well, now we have to look at the question, what the heck happens to Barca’s fanbase? Now unlike Bilbao, Barca’s fan base is global. In fact, I dare say that the absolute majority of them don’t actually give a toss about Catalan independence. So what if you told them that they will be playing in a league where Espanyol (I do also wonder how many Barca fans acknowledge Espanyol as a rival) is the biggest club they’ll ever face? No Real Madrid, just Espanyol and lower (no disrespect to Espanyol, but we’re talking on a global scale.)
Alright, so what about the players? Would Barca still have the same appeal if they were playing in a Catalonia league rather than La Liga? I mean, there’s still the Champions League, right?
Better yet, how would the other clubs feel? Espanyol has no known stance on the issue, would they be pleased of an independent Barca, or like their bigger cousin, suffer heavily by the lack of La Liga?
But I know what you’re saying, as if Barca wouldn’t stay in La Liga? It would be like the Welsh teams in England, a grandfather clause. How can you not have them? They’re too freakin’ big, it’s Barca!
Ha ha, well, you’ll be dead wrong, because both Spain and La Liga have stated that they will expel Barca, along with any Catalan clubs, should it go for independence (In fact, that’s actually one of their legit points on why independence is such a bad thing for Catalans). While it does hurt La Liga to lose Barca, one has to wonder how La Liga would react, would it become like the Bundesliga, and have Real win mostly everything, or would there be a genuine step up from the next tier? Could Atletico, Valencia, and Sevilla become really respectable foes and actually make for a more even league? Real Madrid would hurt of course, but could they turn a negative into a positive?
It is a big question for La Liga. People often claim its status as the best. But if you take away Barca, would Spain still be just as competitive on the world stage? The only countries I believe you can take away one huge club and still have very high quality in the league would be England and Italy (and you can argue Italy is missing two of its Superpowers with their performances). One could look to the Scottish leagues to see what happens if one major part of the duopoly goes missing.
Would players want to continue playing in Spain without Barca?
Of course, one has to wonder exactly how much of an impact Barca's absence would have. It could cause the people to demand Barca gets back into La Liga. Would people pressure be enough to get Barca back in, or is it a battle between Spain and Barca to see which will wilt first?
Of course, there is the third option, would Barca’s expulsion result in a European Superleague to be fasttracked? Can’t have an elite superpower like Barca wasting away to nothing, right? Too big for the Catalan league, can’t go back to La Liga, the only other way is Euro Super League (unless for some weird reason, France decides to accept, and that would go against everything Barca stood for, not to mention it’s not entirely certain if France would accept Barca into their ranks. Heck, Portiugal could also be another possibility).
I suppose that’s where you come in. Who would be the bigger loser? What would the implications be for not only La Liga, but European football? Do you believe that despite independence, Spain will chicken out and keep Barca because of their drawing power? Or will France or Portugal benefit? Better yet, do you believe a country’s independence can rely on the status of its team, which is a superpower on the world stage? Should Catalonia even be independent?
So many questions, up to you to let your thoughts known… if you want to. If successful, perhaps we might see more in the future.
It’s a very weird and serious one because the club and its fans are fully in support of Catalan independence, yet I can’t help but feel that while it is a noble cause, are they essentially signing their own ‘death warrant’ with it?
To state, we know Barca have their own chants about independence, and often other Spanish clubs have made their own in return (Spain is nice, why do you want to leave). Yet the club is eerily silent about the biggest question of all.
Look at it this way: If Catalonia became independent, and were forced to make their own league of at least 8 teams (so that Barca can play in the CL), the teams would be:
Barcelona (1)
Espanyol (1)
Girona (2)
Llagostera (2)
Nastic (2)
Cornella (3)
Reus (3)
Sabadell (3)
And that’s just a bog standard 8 team league. Do note there would likely be more teams for promotion and relegation purposes.
Catalonia has a population of 7.5m (Spain 47m), and a GDP of about 220m Euro (on a per capita basis, it is larger than Spain’s). So close to Serbia’s population with the GDP of Ireland (For the record, Serbia’s GDP is significantly less than Catalonia, but Ireland’s per capita is better, since Ireland only has half the population.) The country would be in the top 40 economy wise.
Of course, we’re ignoring the fact that for Catalonia to even have a place in the CL, they need to become a UEFA member, and you can bet there are more than a few countries that will not approve of Catalonia’s membership, (Spain, England, Serbia, Russia, ect) because of the implications of allowing such a country in the first place.
Alright, pretending all is well, now we have to look at the question, what the heck happens to Barca’s fanbase? Now unlike Bilbao, Barca’s fan base is global. In fact, I dare say that the absolute majority of them don’t actually give a toss about Catalan independence. So what if you told them that they will be playing in a league where Espanyol (I do also wonder how many Barca fans acknowledge Espanyol as a rival) is the biggest club they’ll ever face? No Real Madrid, just Espanyol and lower (no disrespect to Espanyol, but we’re talking on a global scale.)
Alright, so what about the players? Would Barca still have the same appeal if they were playing in a Catalonia league rather than La Liga? I mean, there’s still the Champions League, right?
Better yet, how would the other clubs feel? Espanyol has no known stance on the issue, would they be pleased of an independent Barca, or like their bigger cousin, suffer heavily by the lack of La Liga?
But I know what you’re saying, as if Barca wouldn’t stay in La Liga? It would be like the Welsh teams in England, a grandfather clause. How can you not have them? They’re too freakin’ big, it’s Barca!
Ha ha, well, you’ll be dead wrong, because both Spain and La Liga have stated that they will expel Barca, along with any Catalan clubs, should it go for independence (In fact, that’s actually one of their legit points on why independence is such a bad thing for Catalans). While it does hurt La Liga to lose Barca, one has to wonder how La Liga would react, would it become like the Bundesliga, and have Real win mostly everything, or would there be a genuine step up from the next tier? Could Atletico, Valencia, and Sevilla become really respectable foes and actually make for a more even league? Real Madrid would hurt of course, but could they turn a negative into a positive?
It is a big question for La Liga. People often claim its status as the best. But if you take away Barca, would Spain still be just as competitive on the world stage? The only countries I believe you can take away one huge club and still have very high quality in the league would be England and Italy (and you can argue Italy is missing two of its Superpowers with their performances). One could look to the Scottish leagues to see what happens if one major part of the duopoly goes missing.
Would players want to continue playing in Spain without Barca?
Of course, one has to wonder exactly how much of an impact Barca's absence would have. It could cause the people to demand Barca gets back into La Liga. Would people pressure be enough to get Barca back in, or is it a battle between Spain and Barca to see which will wilt first?
Of course, there is the third option, would Barca’s expulsion result in a European Superleague to be fasttracked? Can’t have an elite superpower like Barca wasting away to nothing, right? Too big for the Catalan league, can’t go back to La Liga, the only other way is Euro Super League (unless for some weird reason, France decides to accept, and that would go against everything Barca stood for, not to mention it’s not entirely certain if France would accept Barca into their ranks. Heck, Portiugal could also be another possibility).
I suppose that’s where you come in. Who would be the bigger loser? What would the implications be for not only La Liga, but European football? Do you believe that despite independence, Spain will chicken out and keep Barca because of their drawing power? Or will France or Portugal benefit? Better yet, do you believe a country’s independence can rely on the status of its team, which is a superpower on the world stage? Should Catalonia even be independent?
So many questions, up to you to let your thoughts known… if you want to. If successful, perhaps we might see more in the future.