Lifting the lid on Liga F's new deal with Pau Gasol-backed venture
A closer look at what the investment really means for women's football in Spain and why four clubs didn't back the deal
Liga F and 12 of its clubs have gambled their future on a Pau Gasol-fronted private equity deal, committing to a 25-year agreement with the former basketball player’s investment vehicle that will inject €55m into the league over the next four seasons.
Four Liga F clubs, including Real Madrid, have not signed up to the new deal. A statement from Real Madrid said that anywhere between 35% and 49% of all central commercial revenues – including Liga F broadcast and sponsorship money – will be forfeited to their new investors. It also alleged that clubs promoted into Liga F after the 2026-27 season will be bound to give up the required percentage of its revenues without having received any of the up-front funding.
Liga F has not responded to either of Real Madrid’s claims at the time of publication.
The deal is similar to private equity deals struck by LaLiga in Spain and Ligue 1 in France, but with two big differences: the amount of money being put in is far smaller, and the percentage of revenues being taken out of Liga F is far greater.
Money aside, the deal with Gasol16 Ventures will transform how Liga F is governed and commercialised. The league became an independent entity from next season and will agree all of its own deals.
The agreement with Gasol16 has fast-tracked Liga F out of a €7m-per-year broadcast agreement with DAZN a season early, as well as its commercial support agreement with LaLiga that was set to deliver €10m in 2026-27. LaLiga has been responsible for all sponsorship and licensing deals related to the league over the last four seasons, as well as contributing €32m in support funding.
In addition, Liga F also received the last of its ‘professionalisation funding’ from the Spanish government last year.
Without that support and without the prospect of significantly increased broadcast revenues – as seen in England’s Women’s Super League – Liga F was forced to seek a new funding model in order to keep its clubs afloat.
The deal with Gasol16 Ventures still represents a huge commercial risk for Spanish women’s club football. It will limit its long-term commercial growth in favour of helping Liga F remain solvent in the present. If Real Madrid’s claims are accurate, anywhere up to half of the league’s central commercial revenue – such as its broadcast rights and sponsorship income – will now be sent an external investor until 2051.
The partial uptake by clubs means that Gasol16 Ventures will only put investment into 12 Liga F clubs, distributing less than €4m to each club to further help with professionalisation and facility costs. Liga F will take €12m out of the overall €55m to assist with operational costs, while another €3m will go toward player image rights.
Details around the image rights element of the deal are fuzzy, but the big-picture strategy is for Liga F players to now take a central role in promoting the league through content, advertising and branding. The image rights pot is designed to ensure players are paid to advertise, market and promote Liga F, rather than just themselves, their clubs and their brand sponsors.
Spanish sports business outlet 2Playbook reports that Liga F has immediately gone to market to sell its domestic and international media rights from the 2026-27 season onward, having ended its deal with DAZN a season early.
The league is not guaranteed to earn as much as DAZN has been paying. DAZN is widely thought to have significantly overpaid for the rights back in 2022, and if similar rights fees aren’t forthcoming from the subscription streamer market, Liga F is likely to seek strong free-to-air exposure in Spain to boost exposure, interest and sponsorship revenue.
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