Much has been made of the fact that the Spanish Supercup has been hosted in Saudi Arabia once again, after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar went under the microscope for its human rights record.

It is something that has brought Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez plenty of criticism, who has defended the move to the Middle East.

Of course money talks in football, the primary reason is the fact that the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) will take in around €40m for the tournament.

Real Madrid and Barcelona will both receive €2.8m for their participation, as per Sport. Valencia pick up €1.7m, while Real Betis were awarded just €750k.

Of that €40m, €4m is paid as commission to Gerard Pique’s company Kosmos for setting up the deal. €20m of the remaining €23.7m will be fed back into the Spanish professional football pyramid.

Pique came under heavy fire for completing the deal with RFEF President Luis Rubiales while still an active player for Barcelona. It was pointed out that both the RFEF and Pique stood to benefit financially from Barcelona (and Real Madrid) getting to the final and winning it.

Source: newsnow