This week, the Spanish Supercup is taking place, featuring four teams: Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, first and second in LaLiga last season, and Athletic Club Bilbao and Mallorca, finalists from Copa del Rey last year. Athletic Bilbao was already defeated last night against FC Barcelona, 2-0 (with 2 goals ruled out for them for offside).
This competition suposedly pits the four best football teams in Spain last year, but it's clear that there are inequalities between any team that isn't called Real Madrid or FC Barcelona. And Jon Uriarte, Athletic Club president, lamented it in the press conference, before the game.
Uriarte explained that the Spanish Football Federation earns 40 million euros from Saudi Arabia after every Supercup, and around half of it goes to the clubs (the other half is for the RFEF). Participant clubs get money just for being in the competition, and earn more depending if they reach the final and if they win. But the money is not the same for everyone: it depends on circumstances like TV audiences and number of titles won by the club.
That leaves Real Madrid and Barcelona winning a minumum quantity of around 6 million euros. Meanwhile, Athletic will only receive 1,55 million. Had they won the tournament, they would have get a maximum of 2,55 million.
In other words, because of this the Saudi contract, it is on everyone's best interest that the final is a "Clásico", Barcelona vs. Real Madrid. That includes Gerard Piqué, the former Barcelona player who aided as a mediator between Saudi Arabia and the RFEF, and still earns 4 million euros each year.
"When we think something is not fair, we defend the interests of Athletic and if we are doing something it is because we have hopes that a fairer system can be achieved", he said, while also lamenting that the competition is celebrated in Saudi Arabia: it brings in more money for the clubs (and mostly the Spanish football federation) but takes away the opportunity to watch it to local fans. "One of the basic ingredients of football is the clubs and the fans. These clubs that are part of the competition should be looked afte".