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Spanish league defends clubs with high debts

Jose Maria Gay, the study's author, has warned that Spanish football faces financial collapse and urged authorities to force clubs to stop spending and borrowing in excess of what they can afford.

An LFP source, who asked not to be identified by name, told Reuters the organisation was unaware of Gay's report but noted that an increase in debt to finance expansion was not necessarily a cause for concern.

"Debt is an instrument of financial and economic management that all companies in all corporate sectors make use of," the source said.

"It's rather shocking that the concept of debt, when applied to soccer clubs, has such extremely negative connotations, something that is not the case in any other sector."

The LFP source said it would be "prudent and advisable" in the current economic climate for clubs to rein in borrowing, particularly as the credit crunch had pushed up financing costs.

"The clubs in the league are aware of the situation and are taking the appropriate steps," the source said.

"Relegation is the key to the issue. Relegation means a very significant loss of earning capacity, while still having the same obligations in terms of paying players.

"Easing the burden of relegation is one of the ways of solving this problem and the league is working on measures that go in this direction."

Gay at the University of Barcelona said it was a "tremendous handicap" for clubs to be so deeply in debt with the nation experiencing its worst recession in at least half a century.

He called on the LFP to act but said it was "sitting on its hands". The Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) appeared t