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Report: Barcelona agree to share television revenue more equally among smaller teams

Few domestic leagues are as anti-competitive as La Liga, and a primary reason for that lies in the distribution of the league's television revenue.

Spanish clubs negotiate television right individually rather than collectively, allowing giants like Real Madrid and Barcelona to bring in copious amounts of revenue - about 6.5 times as much as the smallest team according to league president Javier Tebas - that they can then invest into buying the best players, building a global brand, and so on.

The system has led to a number of smaller clubs dealing with serious financial trouble. Change could be on the horizon, though, as Barcelona have reportedly agreed to cut the income gap.

According to Bloomberg News, the Catalan club have agreed to a proposal in which they'll receive no more than four times as much as the lowest-paid La Liga side from the 2016-17 season. The logic behind the plan is to make La Liga more competitive, and the league is apparently aiming to incorporate the proposal into legislation by the end of the year.

However, unlike their Catalan rivals, Real Madrid reportedly want more time to discuss the issue, a stance that falls in line with the words of owner Florentino Perez, who said in September that he wasn't sure if such a proposal was the best solution for La Liga.

Should the plan be incorporated into legislation, it will mark a step in the right direction regarding the league's lack of competitiveness. After all, just imagine if sides like Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla, and Athletic Bilbao were all able to consistently compete with Barcelona and Real Madrid.

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