Postby Matty_the_Emo_Slayer » Sat Oct 07, 2017 9:08 pm
What does everyone reckon will happen with La Liga and the Spanish national team if Catalan independence comes to fruition?
Technically UEFA have no problem with clubs playing in another association's league system (see Swansea and Cardiff City) and there's already an Andorran team in the lower divisions in Spain. La Liga won't be keen on allowing Barcelona to stay and continue to frequently win the top title if they decide they are no longer Spanish though, and although Espanyol haven't won anything in over a decade now they're still a team you can feasibly see winning the Copa del Rey again.
Barcelona leaving would cause a big hit to La Liga's coefficient ranking and maybe even cost them a Champion's League qualifying spot, but it would be potentially very bad for Barca in the long run too if the competition in a new Catalan league was so low that even winning that didn't guarantee automatic Champions League qualification. Aside from Barcelona, Espanyol and Girona in the top flight there are only two Catalan clubs in the Segunda Division and seven in the third tier (excluding the Barcelona and Espanyol reserves) which wouldn't exactly make for a very exciting or competitive league.
If Catalan independence sparks a subsequent break in the Basque Country though and Athletic Bilbao, Eibar, Alaves, Real Sociedad and Osasuna (who are actually from the partially Basque-speaking Navarre but could still be part of a future Basque state/Basque FA) all leave La Liga too then there could be something half decent there, though that would dilute the remaining Spanish league even further.
The other option I've heard touted is for Barcelona to join Ligue 1...
As for the national team it's pretty obvious where most of Barcelona's local heroes' loyalties would lie given nearly all of them have played friendies for the unofficial Catalonia XI but by the time a separation deal is formalised Pique, Busquets and Iniesta could all be past their international playing years (and although Xavi is still playing for Catalonia at 37 I doubt he could handle a return to competitive international duty.) I can't really see Gerard Deulofeu leading a Catalan team to qualifying for a major tournament pretty much on his own and who knows how long it could take for a new Catalan golden generation to appear. Whereas for the Spanish national team I doubt they'd be in too much trouble, but certainly their chances of winning tournaments would be seriously dented.
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