At the Olé Sports Summit at Usina del Arte in Buenos Aires, Argentina, LaLiga president Javier Tebas spoke about an array of issues, ranging from his league’s presentation, AI use via a video game sponsor, and of course Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona.
At the summit, Tebas stated that, “Messi did not finish his career in La Liga because Leo and FC Barcelona did not agree. I wish he could have stayed and finished his sporting career in Spain. It would have been the best for him, for me and for Barcelona”.
The loss of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in LaLiga may not have a long-term effect on the league, but it certainly is a key element that is missing when considering LaLiga was the place to watch the two best players in the world playing for the league’s two best clubs.
Tebas on Luis Rubiales
When it comes to Luis Rubiales, the LaLiga president held his ground, “At the level of Spanish football it has the greatest impact at the institutional level, at the country level, too. There are more than 130,000 digital news articles about Rubiales and all in the same line, and there has never been an impact of such a level.
“That indicates that the issue is very serious, beyond sexual harassment or not, it is inconceivable, unpresentable that a boss can ask an employee, grabbing her by the head, ‘give me a kiss’…”
“Mr. Rubiales has to know that he cannot grab a player like a sack of potatoes. He has to know that he cannot grab the Queen by the shoulder, and he also touched his genitals in a press box, it points to a behavior of how he understands life towards women that comes from many years ago. I wasn’t surprised.”
Tebas on LaLiga attendance and video games
When asked about the presentation of LaLiga, Tebas suggested that presentation is everything and that teams that struggle with attendance or filling their respective stadiums should try and group the home supporters together to give the feeling of a more filled stadium, especially for television broadcasts.
Another aspect that Tebas would like to incorporate with LaLiga comes from video games, in which through the use of AI technology a Esports player watching a LaLiga match live can create a play as the game is progressing rather than just watch it as it unfolds.
