MADRID: Despite the rise of Spanish clubs, his reign was also plagued with a great deal of controversy and condemnation.
In a dramatic turn of events, Javier Tebas (61) has stepped down from his position as president of the Spanish La Liga to run for the same position again in the upcoming elections.
As it stands, he is the only candidate who has publicly declared his intentions to run for president of the league. The football administrator shared the news of his resignation and plans on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He wrote: “A minutes [sic] ago, I presented my resignation as president of La Liga, prior to the end of office, which ends on 23 December. A new electoral process will be opened in which I will stand again. So I will ask for the endorsement and trust of clubs to take on the challenges that we are facing.”
Tebas was voted the president in 2013 and then re-elected twice in 2016 and 2019. In his nearly decade-long stint has seen La Liga clubs, more specifically, Real Madrid and Barcelona FC dominate the UEFA Champions League while Sevilla ruled the Europa Cup.
Despite the rise of Spanish clubs, his reign was also plagued with a great deal of controversy and condemnation. Along with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, the combative administrator was a key proponent of the European Super League (ESL), which could not come into existence due to an overwhelming rejection by football lovers in Europe.
Most recently, he had been involved in social media spats with Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior over the racism the Brazilian player experienced.