Is Málaga CF viable in the First Federation?

what will happen if the Malaga CF descends to the third category and leaves professional football? Is the club viable in the First RFEF? Is there a risk of a new disappearance? The club, through the mouth of José María Muñoz himself, judicial administrator of the entity for three years now, has transmitted at all times that Málaga CF could go out and compete without problems in the First Federation. In more than one public appearance, Muñoz wanted to make it clear that this possible (now very probable) scenery «is more than contemplated»since he landed at the club. “The entity is viable in a decline», He said in another previous appearance, when things were already twisted last year.

Well, looking at the current scenario, after the stumble on Sunday against the racingthere is not a second to lose within the club in starting to prepare a possible descent scenario, adapting the club, from top to bottom, to the new economic reality that it would have to face. That is the work of anticipation that the receiver now has ahead of him, Jose Maria Munoz, and the new CEO, Kike Pérez. If you don’t have to activate it later, the better, but the plan must be perfectly designed to start applying it the same day that an unwanted downgrade is consummated.

Budget

The work of adapting the club to the third echelon of Spanish football it won’t be easy for an entity that only 5 years ago was in the First Division and that already had to carry out a YOU ARE three summers ago. The biggest drawback would be in the economic section, since the annual budget would drop significantly with respect to the current one and that of the last seasons in LaLigaSmartBank.

He Malaga CF would lose the economic strength that the current television cast gives you in Second. In the 2021/22 season, the Martiricos club entered 7.44 million euros for his TV rights and, after a hypothetical descent to First RFEF, this game would not even reach one million euros, taking into account that the blue and whites would benefit the most from the current system. If the figures of this current season were maintained, Málaga would only be guaranteed to enter about 200,000-300,000 euros for the television contract, with the possibility of increasing this figure due to other factors. For example, if the malaguistas subscribe en masse to watch the matches on InStat, OTT which has the rights to the category until 2025. As is currently the case with the Sportsthe blue and white social mass would make the club one of the ones that would enter the most, but in the best of cases would lose 6-7 million euros regarding this course.

We must also take into account the loss of number of subscribersof ticket sales for matchessupport of sponsors and the sales that the merchandising. There would go another good handful of thousands of euros.

It is true that Málaga would receive a aid of The league by the descent of €1.25 million (non-refundable), a very poor figure and that would do little to alleviate this significant drop in income. And according to the analyst Roberto Bayonthe club also rHe would receive “the book value of his place in LaLiga”, which right now is around 3 million euros. This amount would have to be returned when returning to professional football.

Parallels with Depor

Many have already begun to compare the situation of Málaga CF with that experienced by the Deportivo de la Coruña two seasons ago. But there is an important difference. The Galicians had the backing of Abanca, while Málaga is a judicialized club, where at the moment there is no majority shareholder willing to put up money. In the current judicial situation, until the disputes between the Al Thani and the APA and in front of BlueBay It would be difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to launch into increasing the club’s budget to increase the chances of an immediate return to the elite.

In a scenario of First RFEF and with the judicial mess unresolved -it does not seem that it will be in the short term-, the support of the institutions and sponsors would again be key so that Málaga had one of the highest budgets in its category. He City hall and the Provincial Council of Malaga They have already made an important injection into the coffers this course, which has not had the desired effect in terms of sports performance. Without the money from the televisions, this aid would be essential so that a Malaga without investors could be competitive in the old Second B (whose format does not seem to be clear for the 2023/24 season either).

club restructuring

The club would have to change from top to bottom to be viable in Primera RFEF. In the first place, most of the first team would go free, activating exit clauses or due to the simple fact that the entity could not assume its records. Homegrown players will remain, others who can adjust to the new economic reality it would be necessary to do a good number of signings of the profile of the category.

But this would not be enough. Málaga would have to significantly reduce the number of workers in all its areas to adapt its structure to that of a sports club. First Federation. There would be notable cuts in the offices, from those that directly affect the first team to the youth academy, going through the rest of the departments. In the summer of 2020, with Jose Maria Munoz In front of the ship, an ERE has already been applied to the club’s workers to adapt it to Segunda, and now similar measures would have to be taken in the event of relegation.

Therefore, Would Málaga CF be viable in the RFEF First Division? Everything seems to indicate yes, at least in the 2023/24 season. Of course, given the current situation, with a judicially administered club, it remains to be seen if the blue and white entity would have one of the highest budgets in the category to fight with everything to return to Second divisionor it would become a modest club more than the third category of Spanish football.