In June 2010 a majority stake in the Spanish La Liga team, Malaga, was purchased by Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani, a Qatari Businessman.
In 2012, fans became overjoyed as the Qatari spent around $80 million assembling a squad containing big names like Spain's double European champion Santiago Cazorla, and Dutch defender Joris Mathijsen. In just two years after the acquisition, Malaga completed its best season by finishing fourth place in La Liga and securing a spot in the Champions League. However, while other clubs with foreign-owned clubs continued to invest, suddenly for inexplicable reasons no more money was flowing into the club. It was rumored that Al Thani had lost interest in investing any more in Malaga due to Malaga not gaining the TV rights they wanted and due to lack of urgency from Spanish authorities in regards to his Marbella hotel, port, and football academy projects.
Following this, players such as Cazorla and Mathisen left to Arsenal and Feyernord respectively, and
Malaga’s Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy and top scorer Jose Rondon both launched complaints to
Spanish football authorities about unpaid wages. Additionally, Malaga was also struggling with conferring with Financial fair play rules, due to overdue transfer payments which after their Champions League run led them to be banned by the UEFA for the subsequent 2013-2014 Europa League tournament.
After all this, in 2020, Al-Thani was removed as president of Malaga by a judge on charges filed by the Association of Small Shareholders of Malaga C.F (APA) that he owed the club 8.5 million euros. It was revealed that Al Thani and his family had taken additional money out of the club for personal use, consequently angering around 3000 other shareholders.
Considering Malaga as a club that had maintained a place in La Liga prior to their new ownership, its
steady decline and financial difficulties leading to their relegation to the second tier of Spanish football
in 2018 could be attributed to their acquisition by Al Thani. The Sheikh, who was once perceived as a
hero by Malaga’s fans, is now viewed as a villain. Should La Liga and other leagues institute harsher
requirements for new owners? What measures can the Spanish Government and other European
Governments take to prevent this from happening again to another club?
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