In a bombshell announcement, Real Madrid have revealed they intend to sue bosses at La Liga and financial firm CVC, who have agreed a $3.2 billion deal that could transform Spanish and European football.
The huge deal between the private equity group and La Liga, which would create a new business to take control of most of the league's activities, was announced last week and is due to be voted on by the 42 teams in Spain's top two divisions, according to reports.
Under the plan, clubs would be given 90 percent of the money in a huge cash injection just three months after the financially lucrative yet widely-despised plans for the European Super League (ESL) fell through – but 13-time Champions League winners Madrid oppose the move, according to the FT.
In a statement on their official website that is sure to send more shockwaves through European football, Madrid said: "The Board of Directors of Real Madrid CF, meeting today [Tuesday] at 11am, has unanimously agreed to carry out both civil and criminal legal actions against the president of La Liga, Mr Javier Tebas Medrano, against Mr Javier de Jaime Guijarro, responsible of the CVC Fund, and against the CVC Capital Partners SICAV-FIS Fund itself.
"Likewise, the Board of Directors has also decided to carry out legal actions of all kinds that are deemed appropriate to annul and nullify the possible agreements adopted by the La Liga Assembly, to be held on August 12, 2021, regarding the agreement between LaLiga and the CVC Fund."
Madrid had joined champions Atletico Madrid and heavyweight rivals Barcelona among the 12 enlistees in the breakaway ESL, which swiftly collapsed amid a furious response from fans and numerous players and high-profile figures at clubs, even encompassing the involvement of governments who warned against the competition.
Club president Florentino Perez has consistently maintained that the ESL plan is only on hold.
The agreement between La Liga and CVC is unanimously backed by the league's 'delegated commission', which contains representatives from seven top-flight clubs but none from Real Madrid or Barca.
CVC plans to hold a ten percent stake in the new business and hopes to expand the reach, brand, engagement and digital activities of the league, which it predicted would be valued at around $28.5 billion.
The firm's main headquarters are in Luxembourg, and its increasing involvement in a range of sports continued with a recent investment of around $505 million in the annual Six Nations rugby tournament.
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