Sky Sports has reportedly pulled out of the bidding process to land La Liga's UK broadcasting rights, gifting the Spanish top flight to rivals BT Sport.
Sky has been the home of La Liga and global superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for almost 20 years, but is said to have conceded defeat to BT in protest after the bidding process was taken to a second round.
According to the Daily Mail, Sky made the biggest first-round offer but was annoyed that a second round was called, so BT is on the verge of securing La Liga coverage for the next three seasons.
If BT does secure the rights to La Liga, it will hold exclusive UK rights for four of Europe's traditional top five leagues - La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 - and be the only place viewers can watch the Champions League and Europa League.
Written by
Pascal Lemesre
Pascal Lemesre
