Real Madrid Challenges RFEF and La Liga Agreements Over Copa del Rey Rights

Real Madrid has announced its challenge to agreements between the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga concerning the centralized production and marketing of audiovisual rights for the Copa del Rey until the 2031-2032 season. Press reports indicate that the club, chaired by Florentino Pérez, views these understandings as an infringement on its inherent prerogatives, limiting its ability to make independent decisions regarding its commercial and production rights.

Amidst this legal dispute, the aforementioned agreements aim to unify television production standards and ensure compliance with international norms, thereby enhancing the tournament's standing in the global media market. In this context, La Liga has affirmed its strong commitment to defending the legality of these measures, noting that courts have previously endorsed the centralized production model in earlier periods, which strengthens the legitimacy of this move in the face of club objections.

The RFEF has indicated that this marketing model ensures a fairer distribution of income, preventing significant financial disparities and primarily serving the interests of smaller clubs. According to data revealed by media sources, this agreement has enabled the Federation to collect additional revenues exceeding expectations by approximately five million euros, which justifies the push towards strengthening joint efforts in managing commercial rights for domestic competitions.

The origin of this measure dates back to September 2025, when Rafael Lozano, president of the RFEF, revealed the decision to revert to the rights selling model that was in place before 2018. This approach aims to restore balance in income distribution, while Real Madrid continues to adhere to its legal position, rejecting this centralization which it views as undermining clubs' powers to directly manage their media assets.