Real Madrid director general Jose Angel Sanchez says he wants to see the return of the "Beckham Law" to make La Liga more competitive in signing and keeping top footballers, with his comments coming as the tax affairs of Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's top earning athlete, remain under investigation.
Ronaldo's image rights returns from 2011 to 2014 are currently the subject of a probe by Spain's tax authorities, amid claims of a €15 million fraud which could carry a jail term, while ex-Madrid coach Jose Mourinho and past and present players including Pepe, Fabio Coentrao, Xabi Alonso, Angel Di Maria, Ricardo Carvalho and Luka Modric have all had similar issues in recent years.
Barcelona players have also run into similar problems, with Lionel Messi found guilty of tax evasion in 2016, and current or former teammates Neymar, Javier Mascherano, Alexis Sanchez, Samuel Eto'o and Adriano Correia also running into difficulties with the tax authorities.
Speaking at a conference entitled "A New Legal Framework in Sport," organised by the Spanish government and Spain's Olympic Council, Sanchez said that Spanish football's "leadership position" should be protected by the government returning to favourable tax treatment of non-Spanish players which was introduced around the time former England midfielder David Beckham was at the club.
"We do not have so many industries in Spain which have a leadership position as football does," Sanchez said. "We must reflect on this. We have to do something and the administration can do something. For example, how do you explain that the only professionals in Spain to whom the 'Beckham Law' does not apply are footballers?"
The former Sega marketing executive said that while all footballers should pay what they were legally obliged to, the overall system could be "improved."
"I am not saying they should pay less," Sanchez said. "They should pay all they must pay, but this should be analysed to see if [the system] is well designed. Maybe it can be improved."
Sanchez claimed that the Premier League had an advantage as English-based players paid less tax, making it hard for clubs elsewhere in Europe such as 2014, 2016 and 2017 Champions League winners Madrid to keep up.
"In England they pay less," he said. "They are signing the best players. In England the players earn much more, and they pay less taxes. And that is up against a small group of European teams who can still keep up, like Real Madrid. But this is like a fish tank where there is a lack of oxygen."