Liga president tips Madrid for Clasico

Javier Tebas, the president of the Spanish Football League (LFP), said on Tuesday that he believes Real Madrid will win Saturday's 'Clasico' away to FC Barcelona.

Tebas has never hidden his support for Real Madrid despite presiding over the LFP and speaking on radio station, Onda Cero, he said, he "couldn't be a hypocrite," about the issue.

However, he insisted it did not affect his work. "People should be clear that the colors don't have any influence when I make my decisions. Indeed we have had several issues with Real Madrid this season," he explained.

Tebas says it may not affect his judgement at work, but even though Real Madrid are currently 10 points behind Barca in the race for the Primera Liga title and lost the first meeting between the two sides 4-0 at home, he believes they can cause an upset in the Camp Nou.

"I said I thought Barca would win the first leg, but I think Real Madrid will cause a surprise in this game," commented Tebas, who nevertheless said "Barcelona's level of football is stratospheric."

The LFP president also spoke about the economic situation in Spanish football: "we are worried about the economic issue, but it should be the Premier League which worries about sporting issues, because we win all of the competitions."

"We are working for our league to have more value and the clubs earn more money, but we still lack the power to stop our stars going to the Premier League," he said, adding that the new TV deals which come into effect next season should give the LFP more financial power. Endi