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Real Madrid, Barca "must work harder" following new TV law

Barcelona's Neymar (L) runs with the ball ahead of Real Madrid's Toni Kroos (top) and Luka Modric during their Spanish first division "Clasico" soccer match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, March 22, 2015. REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino

By Mike Collett DEAD SEA, Jordan (Reuters) - Real Madrid and Barcelona will have to work harder to maintain their dominance following new Spanish rules affecting TV rights, the Spanish League's marketing expert said on Monday. Mario Bayarri, the vice-president of Mediapro, the media marketing company that works in partnership with La Liga clubs told delegates at the Soccerex Asian Forum that clubs will now have to think differently following the change. In the past Real and Barca pocketed huge TV deals negotiated separately with the TV companies, but now there will be a far more equal distribution of the cash. "Barca and Real Madrid will have to work harder," he told delegates at the King Hussein convention centre by the shores of the Dead Sea, some 60kms from the capital Amman. "This new reality (making the teams more even in financial terms) is thanks to Real Madrid and Barcelona but they will have to work harder to stay competitive. "What is important now is that all our clubs have a good platform to attract sponsors. "Of course Barca and Real Madrid will remain competitive, but the league will grow. We need to make the League work so that more revenues come, and we can attract more players especially now that we have a very strong shift-change in the domestic rights sales. "So our clubs need to change their mindset. They need to be able to market the rights, go to their partners with these rights to get more revenues." Bayarri was speaking on a panel which included former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, one of the architects of the English Premier League 23 years ago. The EPL has gone from strength to strength partly because TV income is distributed far more evenly between the top and bottom clubs in England than is the case in Spain. "In La Liga the two top clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid, ran away with all the money and left at the bottom are Elche, or Cordoba or Granada who sadly got left right behind. That's not what you would call a healthy situation," Bayarri said. Under the new laws, of total revenues from the sale of the rights, around 90 percent will go to all of the clubs in the first division and the remainder to the second. Analysts calculate that clubs will collectively obtain 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) per season, versus around 700 million euros currently. The figure is less than half the 1.7 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) that English Premier League clubs will net per season from broadcasters Sky and BT under a new contract running between 2016 and 2019.