"Spanish Foreign Affairs minister Jose Garcia-Margallo spoke with AS.com, confirming that the governing body is looking into club finances. The European Commission has alleged that the seven clubs—Barcelona, Madrid, Athletic, Osasuna, Valencia, Hercules and Elche—committed various acts to avoid footing their aid bill."
"Four clubs (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic and Osasuna) are having their tax statuses looked into, as they are all non-corporate entities that could have been given unfair tax breaks. By avoiding being established as a corporation, these clubs would be able to receive special tax exemptions—similar to how non-profit organizations work in the United States."
"This is not the first time the European Commission has looked long and hard at how Spanish football clubs pay their bills. The organization began a widespread look at club finances in 2012, as the clubs continued to spend despite skyrocketing debt across the board. In total, the debt is said to have exceeded €692m, per The Guardian's Giles Tremlett.
If found guilty of illegally receiving aid, the liable clubs, all but one of which play in La Liga (Hercules being the exception), will be expected to repay the amount—something that could be a crippling blow to Spanish football."
