Spanish Clubs Reduce Debt To $254M; Six Responsible For 70% Of Remaining Sum

Spanish football clubs "have slashed their tax debts to around a third" of the €650M apex from three years ago, La Liga officials said on Tuesday, according to Alfredo Matilla of AS. First and second division clubs have a cumulative €230M ($254M) debt to the Spanish government, with six clubs -- Atlético Madrid and Espanyol of La Liga and Valladolid, Mallorca, Zaragoza and Elche of the second tier -- responsible for over 70% of that sum. Neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona "owe any tax to the government." La Liga Internal Affairs Dir Javier Gomez said, "Thanks to a cleanup in professional football the debt has been progressively reduced, as has global debt in the game." La Liga predicts the "debt control measures now in place will see the debt reduced" to €50M ($55.3M) by '20 (AS, 10/11).