Spanish football clubs face Brussels probe into tax breaks Welshman Gareth Bale controls the ball for Real Madrid in a Spanish La Liga match with Sevilla Real Madrid and Barcelona, the world's richest football clubs by revenues, are among seven Spanish teams facing an EU investigation into possible state aid violations that could cost the squads several billion euros. Brussels will launch an in-depth probe on Wednesday into allegations that the Spanish teams unfairly enjoyed government assistance since the 1990s, according to European officials. A complaint made to the EU's antitrust body in 2009 by investors in various EU clubs claimed that the clubs in Spain received several billion euros worth of improper tax breaks and loans from the Spanish government, which was itself forced to seek a €100bn rescue package from international lenders to save its worried banking sector. Spanish football is arguably the most successful in the world. Real Madrid and Barcelona are the two biggest teams globally by turnover and Spain's national team has won three major international titles in succession. The clubs" financial muscle has allowed them to snap up the game's top playing talent and dominate Spain's Primera Liga. This summer, Real Madrid signed the Welsh winger Gareth Bale for a world record €100m. Under EU law, if investigators determine that the clubs received illegal state aid they will be forced to pay back the financial assistance to the Spanish government. The other five clubs to be investigated are Osasuna, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia and Elche, which play in Spain's top league, and Hercules, which is in the second division. All European clubs are obliged to comply with Uefa regulations requiring them to live within their means under a rule called financial fair play, which is broadly aligned with EU policy on state aid. The Commission has failed to act on this complaint for more than four years . . . to the European public it can look like a conflict of interest given the Commissioner's strong links to one of the football clubs in question Emily O'Reilly, the EU's Ombudsman The commission is supportive of the FFP rule and Joaquín Almunia, EU competition commissioner, last year issued a joint statement with Michel Platini, Uefa president, recognising that both sets of rules were pursuing the same objective of "preserving fair competition between football clubs." The Spanish government, which has enjoyed the positive publicity brought by the success of its national and league teams at a time of economic crisis and austerity, firmly denied any wrongdoing on Tuesday. "The government will fight to defend Spanish clubs because they're also part of "Brand Spain,"" said José Manuel Garcia Margallo, foreign minister, on Monday. The case has become increasingly controversial since Mr Almunia was criticised for delaying a decision on whether to open an investigation into Spanish football subsidies by the European Ombudsman, the EU's watchdog. Emily O'Reilly, the EU's Ombudsman, also said that the commission's slow reaction failed to dispel conflict of interest claims made against Mr Almunia, who is a Bilbao season ticket holder and was a minister in the Spanish government that signed off on the allegedly unfair tax breaks. "The Commission has failed to act on this complaint for more than four years . . . to the European public it can look like a conflict of interest given the Commissioner's strong links to one of the football clubs in question," said Ms O'Reilly. I trust, however, that the commission will decide to open an investigation Wednesday in order to investigate the facts and dispel any suspicions. A spokesperson for Mr Almunia said that allegations of a conflict of interest "are unacceptable." Real Madrid and Barcelona, along with Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna, are the only four clubs in Spain that were allowed to remain member-owned after a 1990 law that obliged all other clubs to become limited companies.