The Court of First Instance in Madrid has dismissed Real Madrid's lawsuit against LaLiga regarding the criteria for distributing social impact revenue and has ordered Real Madrid to pay the legal costs.

The Civil Chamber of Court No. 26 issued judgment No. 206/2026 on July 23, dismissing the lawsuit filed by Real Madrid Football Club against LaLiga and ordering the plaintiff club to bear the legal costs. The lawsuit sought to declare null and void the agreement on audiovisual revenue distribution criteria under the concept of social impact, which was adopted by the LaLiga General Assembly on August 4, 2023.

The judgment supports LaLiga's position, finding that the agreement does not violate the law, as it was adopted within the scope explicitly authorized by Article 5.4 of Royal Decree Law 5/2015. The agreement had previously been approved by the supervisory body for audiovisual rights management and subsequently adopted by the LaLiga General Assembly with the legally required two-thirds absolute majority.

The approved system retains viewership-based criteria for the social impact component, while another component is linked to each club's degree of collaboration in voluntarily participating in actions to improve the audiovisual product, also taking viewership metrics into account.

The judgment rejected the main arguments of the lawsuit. The court found that Royal Decree Law 5/2015 grants authority to establish these distribution criteria to the governing bodies of the respective leagues, subject only to the quantitative limits set by the decree itself. The judgment also noted that the legislator did not provide a restrictive definition of "resources generated by the commercialization of television broadcasting," nor did it stipulate that criteria must be limited solely to viewership. Furthermore, the judgment recognized the incentive nature of the system adopted by LaLiga and its basis in voluntary participation, thus not depriving clubs of ownership or the right to independently develop their audiovisual rights that are not subject to mandatory transfer. The court also ruled out any abuse of rights, on the grounds that the agreement was adopted by the competent body with the statutory majority, and its purpose and operation were well-justified. Finally, the judgment emphasized that Real Madrid failed to provide technical evidence to prove the specific economic damages claimed in its lawsuit.

The criminal avenue had previously been dismissed. Prior to this civil lawsuit, Real Madrid had filed a criminal complaint against LaLiga and its president, alleging crimes of serious breach of trust, serious misappropriation, imposition of abusive agreements, and private corruption. This complaint was ruled inadmissible by Central Investigative Court No. 4 on September 13, 2023. Subsequently, the Third Chamber of the Criminal Division of the National Court upheld this decision, finding that the agreement did not constitute any criminal offense. After the criminal avenue was dismissed, Real Madrid filed the civil lawsuit, which has now been fully rejected.

This judgment is a first-instance ruling and is not yet final. An appeal may be filed within 20 working days from the date of notification. LaLiga will continue to defend the legality of its agreements, respect the authority of the competition's governing bodies, and take measures that contribute to enhancing the value and quality of the audiovisual product for the benefit of all clubs.

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