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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Spaniards’ Secular Ritual

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Football is the most popular sport in Spain, and its strong attraction is clearly reflected in its economic dimensions. Recent estimations of the economic influence of Spanish football concluded that it had an effect on production of some €4,000,000,000, almost one per cent of the general Gross National Product (GNP) and about 1.2 per cent of the GNP of the services sector (LFP, 2004). Adding in other indirect effects, such as employee remuneration and the gross operating surplus, the total impact of Spanish football on the Spanish economy climbs to €8,066,000,000, approximately 1.7 per cent of the overall GNP and 2.5 per cent of the GNP of the services sector, and it provides direct or indirect employment to almost 66,000 people (LFP, 2004). Within this vast economic reality of Spanish football, two clubs have an especially significant economic impact: Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. According to the study carried out by the Deloitte auditing agency every year, in 2011 these two clubs — for the third consecutive year — were the clubs with the highest incomes in the world, billing €479,500,000 and €450,700,000, respectively (Deloitte, 2012).