Don Miguel Ángel Gil evaluates the changes made in the organization of the club
We’re getting closer to a balanced situation
Don Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, the club CEO gave his opinion on the recent changes in the organisation of the ‘rojiblanco’ club.
To see the organisation chart, click here.
Whats the agreement adopted by the council? “to restructure determined areas of the organisation and agree upon a business model and a sporting model which is in line with our social and financial reality”.
Why has the restructuring been done now? “it’s been done now because it’s necessary. The business model had to be reformed as although we’d had good results, it was badly perceived. In the last three seasons has grown in all aspects. Numerous players are making the step up from the academy to the first team, players such as ROBERTO, DE GEA, JOEL, DOMINGUEZ, PULIDO, RUBÉN, KOKE, MARIO, SAÚL, BORJA, CEDRIC, ETC… During those three seasons, the first team has qualified for the Champions League twice and the Eurpoa League once. We’ve won two continental titles and been in the final of the Spanish Kings Cup. During those last three season the club has seen an increase in patrimonial by more than 400,000,000€, the equivalent value of the benefits obtained as a result of the MAHOU-CALDERÓN and Ensanche Norte de Alcorcón link ups, which will be transformed in to the building of the new stadium and the new training complex in the next three seasons”.
Can it be said tha Atlético de Madrid has or is near to balancing the books? “In these last three excersises, the company is close to balancing the books. We’ve systematically broken records for the number of season ticket holders, supporters club members and supporters. The number of shareholders has increased resulting in more capacity in the shareholder structure to more people. New groups have been created, like those of the volunteers and the non season ticket holding members, all with independence, give the most attention to the two most important groups in our club, the ‘veteranos’ and the ‘senadores’. Despite all this, the perception of the running of the club and those who run it is not good”.
Whats your opinion of the critism recieved of the business model of Atlético? Some people like to think in the past and remember the way things worked in the 70s, when things where really good in the history of the club. They were also good years in the 90s when we won four titles and reached two other finals, run by the people who’re still running things now . Last season we won two moer titles and they continue clinging on to the past.
Its obvious that the deterioration produced in the past affects the image of the people and the ways of running the club. 'The President and I have seen people coming and going over the years within the world of football, too many leaders and representatives of national and international football. We've seen it happen to Presidents like Ezcurra, Tuzón, Mendoza, Nunez, Lopera, Lendoiro, Ruiz Mateos, Javier Perez, Horacio Gomez, Eugenio Prieto, Pedro Aurtenetxe Jose Angel Zalba, and so on. And all that has happended to them in their Clubs has also happened to presidents of the LFP, UEFA, FIFA,media, etc ... The ravages of time attached to the judicial process, with the relegation included have obviously eroded the image of management and managers. This calls for the restructuring that is taking place in the management model. '
Why did you want to change the sporting model? 'The sporting model also needed be reviewed. The current structure of football in our country since the Sports Act forced most clubs to become public limited sports companies, but not all clubs, this has made the gap between the two groups increase to the point of today where 3 distinct groups exist in our league. On one side are Real Madrid and Barcelona, the second group those who have historically been able to challenge with them for title, but is now virtually impossible to do so, and finally those who’s target each season is to avoid relegation.
I think that Atlético de Madrid must identify itself and justify is sporting model in accordance to their budgetary possibilities. This must be based on the promotion of our home grown players, in the recruitment of young players who want to develop and grow in our club, and in recruiting a player for his quality and international experience who can improve the performance and image of the club. A model similar to many sports clubs that have gone many years without winning anything, but their fans can relate to them.'
What does the restructuring consist of? 'Any public limited football club has a structure similar to Atlético de Madrid: The first level is the brand, the club, the essence of passion about club colours. The club can have the legal structure it likes, but what the club represents, their fans and the emotional identification is beyond any legal framework, and has no owners.
At a second level, is the football business. Since 1992, Atletico is a public limited sports company with a capital structure that has been modified over the years in terms of participation by the shareholders, to the extent that they have decided to invest personal assets or indebtedness to third parties to acquire shareholdings. To the extent that shareholders assume greater economic risk, obviously we have more power to decide on the composition of the Board, which is the head of the Company. Shareholders are the owners of the Company, but neither the Club nor what it represents.
A third level is the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee that meets, in our case made by the President, the CEO and two directors. This is the body that determines social policy, economic and sports of the Company and which sets the financial parameters in which to plan the structure of the first team. The CEO, delegated by the Board of Directors is the Company who manages all aspects of it, together with the Directors, always respecting the resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors.
In a fourth level, there are the Area Directors: Sports, Social, Financial, Commercial, Communication, Marketing and Expansion. In the fifth level, are all employees of the Company, from players and coaches to all who are part of each of the departments. ' What levels are affected by this new restructuring? 'The restructuring that is taking place affects the last three levels. As the Board of Directors, the agreement is based on the representation of management and the sports area will be carried out by the directors hired by the Company in Sports and communication areas, members of the Board dedicating their time and labor to the management of the Company it represents.' What changes will you and the president face? 'The President, Enrique Cerezo, is the highest representative of the Club and therefore the representative to any institution or body, Football Clubs, and social groups, and will continue to be as long as they want and I keep my current shareholding. In my capacity as CEO, I will remain the head of the management and limit any public hearing on media issues related to the Company, its accounts and its heritage projects and brand expansion. The Board of Directors and Executive Committee will both maintain their functions for the moment. ' What changes will occur in the fourth level? 'The changes in the fourth level, ie, the Directors do not affect neither the finance nor the social Area. Mario Aragon will continue as head of finance. Fernando Fariza will remain incharge of the Social Area and be ultimately responsible for all aspects of the ticketing and all the groups that make up our Club.
The sports area has been completely restructured, with additions of Jose Luis Perez Caminero and Carlos Aguilera, and the creation of a unique structure to capture players not only in the professional level but also at grassroots level.
The commercial area has been completely restructured with the addition of Guillermo Moraleda as the head, responsible for the management of advertising, sponsorship and merchandising.
Finally, the Department of Communication and Marketing, which will be split into two, one exclusively for managing communication and one for Marketing, Protocol and Institutional Expansion of the Brand. Rafael Alique will be the head of the Department of Communication, responsible for the development of our web and social networks, as well as the creation of audiovisual content. Alique will be responsible for managing the relationship between professionals in the sports area, director, coaches and players, the media, he has the final say of who, when, how and where any representative of the sport structure of club will appear in public or on behalf of the club.
The Department of Marketing, and Institutional Protocol Brand Expansion Project will continue to be directed by Emilio Gutiérrez.
In the fifth level, and derived from changes in the forth, changes have been and will be made, having authorized the Directors to take decisions on behalf of the company. '
What is the aim of this restructuring? 'The restructuring is not intended to move thing around so that everything remains the same. We are looking for a scenario where the shareholders and directors distance themselves from management and communication of sports and limit public opinion about the area. And for this, it is necessary for the football side of things to be accountable for decisions and their communication policy of the same professionals employed for this purpose and not for the director to carry this out.
These professionals will be faithful to the sporting model proposed by the Council and conform rigorously to the available budget proposed by the Company for each season.
Above all, it aims to have a single message to the outside. Recently there has been talk that this club is run by a 'bicefalia' formed by the President and CEO, I cannot say more than this is strictly untrue. In the Council there are three positions, President, Vice President Economic and CEO, whose views have influenced the decision-making. The on person responsibile for management has been and is me, for my role as CEO. This restructuring aims to understand the different ways of managing this club, so that we’re not sending out different messages to the outside, which only cause confusion and instability. Therefore, to avoid different messages even contradictory, this restructuring is necessary, where the directors devote our time and work to the club, the accounts, balances and economic policies and the new Director of Football and communication and management will represent the football side of things. '
How will the fans accept these changes? 'Many fans and media that have an opinion about them believe that Atlético does not compete with Real Madrid and Barcelona due to bad management, because in the 70's, we did compete with them. And the reality is that when our income is over 4 times lower than theirs, it is virtually impossible to hire the right people and pay wages to prevent people from leaving. This belief that we can compete, but we don’t because of the management, causes a permanent state of frustration and disappointment to the fans. The fans of most clubs in any country identified with the club when they win titles, and when they don’t win titles, they understand the economic constraints to compete with those others whose budgets are not viable competition.
That feeling of wanting and not being able to limits the ability of our fans to enjoy and the ability to worship our players. It is unreasonable that after 15 days of winning 2 titles, we're all angry'.
To see the organisation chart, click here.
Whats the agreement adopted by the council? “to restructure determined areas of the organisation and agree upon a business model and a sporting model which is in line with our social and financial reality”.
Why has the restructuring been done now? “it’s been done now because it’s necessary. The business model had to be reformed as although we’d had good results, it was badly perceived. In the last three seasons has grown in all aspects. Numerous players are making the step up from the academy to the first team, players such as ROBERTO, DE GEA, JOEL, DOMINGUEZ, PULIDO, RUBÉN, KOKE, MARIO, SAÚL, BORJA, CEDRIC, ETC… During those three seasons, the first team has qualified for the Champions League twice and the Eurpoa League once. We’ve won two continental titles and been in the final of the Spanish Kings Cup. During those last three season the club has seen an increase in patrimonial by more than 400,000,000€, the equivalent value of the benefits obtained as a result of the MAHOU-CALDERÓN and Ensanche Norte de Alcorcón link ups, which will be transformed in to the building of the new stadium and the new training complex in the next three seasons”.
Can it be said tha Atlético de Madrid has or is near to balancing the books? “In these last three excersises, the company is close to balancing the books. We’ve systematically broken records for the number of season ticket holders, supporters club members and supporters. The number of shareholders has increased resulting in more capacity in the shareholder structure to more people. New groups have been created, like those of the volunteers and the non season ticket holding members, all with independence, give the most attention to the two most important groups in our club, the ‘veteranos’ and the ‘senadores’. Despite all this, the perception of the running of the club and those who run it is not good”.
Whats your opinion of the critism recieved of the business model of Atlético? Some people like to think in the past and remember the way things worked in the 70s, when things where really good in the history of the club. They were also good years in the 90s when we won four titles and reached two other finals, run by the people who’re still running things now . Last season we won two moer titles and they continue clinging on to the past.
Its obvious that the deterioration produced in the past affects the image of the people and the ways of running the club. 'The President and I have seen people coming and going over the years within the world of football, too many leaders and representatives of national and international football. We've seen it happen to Presidents like Ezcurra, Tuzón, Mendoza, Nunez, Lopera, Lendoiro, Ruiz Mateos, Javier Perez, Horacio Gomez, Eugenio Prieto, Pedro Aurtenetxe Jose Angel Zalba, and so on. And all that has happended to them in their Clubs has also happened to presidents of the LFP, UEFA, FIFA,media, etc ... The ravages of time attached to the judicial process, with the relegation included have obviously eroded the image of management and managers. This calls for the restructuring that is taking place in the management model. '
Why did you want to change the sporting model? 'The sporting model also needed be reviewed. The current structure of football in our country since the Sports Act forced most clubs to become public limited sports companies, but not all clubs, this has made the gap between the two groups increase to the point of today where 3 distinct groups exist in our league. On one side are Real Madrid and Barcelona, the second group those who have historically been able to challenge with them for title, but is now virtually impossible to do so, and finally those who’s target each season is to avoid relegation.
I think that Atlético de Madrid must identify itself and justify is sporting model in accordance to their budgetary possibilities. This must be based on the promotion of our home grown players, in the recruitment of young players who want to develop and grow in our club, and in recruiting a player for his quality and international experience who can improve the performance and image of the club. A model similar to many sports clubs that have gone many years without winning anything, but their fans can relate to them.'
What does the restructuring consist of? 'Any public limited football club has a structure similar to Atlético de Madrid: The first level is the brand, the club, the essence of passion about club colours. The club can have the legal structure it likes, but what the club represents, their fans and the emotional identification is beyond any legal framework, and has no owners.
At a second level, is the football business. Since 1992, Atletico is a public limited sports company with a capital structure that has been modified over the years in terms of participation by the shareholders, to the extent that they have decided to invest personal assets or indebtedness to third parties to acquire shareholdings. To the extent that shareholders assume greater economic risk, obviously we have more power to decide on the composition of the Board, which is the head of the Company. Shareholders are the owners of the Company, but neither the Club nor what it represents.
A third level is the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee that meets, in our case made by the President, the CEO and two directors. This is the body that determines social policy, economic and sports of the Company and which sets the financial parameters in which to plan the structure of the first team. The CEO, delegated by the Board of Directors is the Company who manages all aspects of it, together with the Directors, always respecting the resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors.
In a fourth level, there are the Area Directors: Sports, Social, Financial, Commercial, Communication, Marketing and Expansion. In the fifth level, are all employees of the Company, from players and coaches to all who are part of each of the departments. ' What levels are affected by this new restructuring? 'The restructuring that is taking place affects the last three levels. As the Board of Directors, the agreement is based on the representation of management and the sports area will be carried out by the directors hired by the Company in Sports and communication areas, members of the Board dedicating their time and labor to the management of the Company it represents.' What changes will you and the president face? 'The President, Enrique Cerezo, is the highest representative of the Club and therefore the representative to any institution or body, Football Clubs, and social groups, and will continue to be as long as they want and I keep my current shareholding. In my capacity as CEO, I will remain the head of the management and limit any public hearing on media issues related to the Company, its accounts and its heritage projects and brand expansion. The Board of Directors and Executive Committee will both maintain their functions for the moment. ' What changes will occur in the fourth level? 'The changes in the fourth level, ie, the Directors do not affect neither the finance nor the social Area. Mario Aragon will continue as head of finance. Fernando Fariza will remain incharge of the Social Area and be ultimately responsible for all aspects of the ticketing and all the groups that make up our Club.
The sports area has been completely restructured, with additions of Jose Luis Perez Caminero and Carlos Aguilera, and the creation of a unique structure to capture players not only in the professional level but also at grassroots level.
The commercial area has been completely restructured with the addition of Guillermo Moraleda as the head, responsible for the management of advertising, sponsorship and merchandising.
Finally, the Department of Communication and Marketing, which will be split into two, one exclusively for managing communication and one for Marketing, Protocol and Institutional Expansion of the Brand. Rafael Alique will be the head of the Department of Communication, responsible for the development of our web and social networks, as well as the creation of audiovisual content. Alique will be responsible for managing the relationship between professionals in the sports area, director, coaches and players, the media, he has the final say of who, when, how and where any representative of the sport structure of club will appear in public or on behalf of the club.
The Department of Marketing, and Institutional Protocol Brand Expansion Project will continue to be directed by Emilio Gutiérrez.
In the fifth level, and derived from changes in the forth, changes have been and will be made, having authorized the Directors to take decisions on behalf of the company. '
What is the aim of this restructuring? 'The restructuring is not intended to move thing around so that everything remains the same. We are looking for a scenario where the shareholders and directors distance themselves from management and communication of sports and limit public opinion about the area. And for this, it is necessary for the football side of things to be accountable for decisions and their communication policy of the same professionals employed for this purpose and not for the director to carry this out.
These professionals will be faithful to the sporting model proposed by the Council and conform rigorously to the available budget proposed by the Company for each season.
Above all, it aims to have a single message to the outside. Recently there has been talk that this club is run by a 'bicefalia' formed by the President and CEO, I cannot say more than this is strictly untrue. In the Council there are three positions, President, Vice President Economic and CEO, whose views have influenced the decision-making. The on person responsibile for management has been and is me, for my role as CEO. This restructuring aims to understand the different ways of managing this club, so that we’re not sending out different messages to the outside, which only cause confusion and instability. Therefore, to avoid different messages even contradictory, this restructuring is necessary, where the directors devote our time and work to the club, the accounts, balances and economic policies and the new Director of Football and communication and management will represent the football side of things. '
How will the fans accept these changes? 'Many fans and media that have an opinion about them believe that Atlético does not compete with Real Madrid and Barcelona due to bad management, because in the 70's, we did compete with them. And the reality is that when our income is over 4 times lower than theirs, it is virtually impossible to hire the right people and pay wages to prevent people from leaving. This belief that we can compete, but we don’t because of the management, causes a permanent state of frustration and disappointment to the fans. The fans of most clubs in any country identified with the club when they win titles, and when they don’t win titles, they understand the economic constraints to compete with those others whose budgets are not viable competition.
That feeling of wanting and not being able to limits the ability of our fans to enjoy and the ability to worship our players. It is unreasonable that after 15 days of winning 2 titles, we're all angry'.
