European Court of Justice forces football clubs Barcelona, Real Madrid repay illegal state aid
Barcelona, along with fellow Spanish LaLiga football teams Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna, has been dealt a blow after the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld an earlier ruling from its executive arm stating that the clubs should pay back what is deemed to be illegal state aid.
The ruling from the EU’s top court today (Thursday) cancels a 2019 decision brought by the Luxembourg-based General Court that found the four clubs’ tax regime was lawful. In February 2019, the four clubs received a financial boost after the General Court of the European Union overturned the earlier ruling from the European Commission concerning state aid.
That ruling would have meant the four clubs no longer had to pay back taxes that could have amounted to up to €5m ($6m) apiece. The case dated back to a 2016 ruling from the EC.
