Alfonso Diaz: Real Mallorca CEO, From 30 Million Debt to Top Flight Club

Today, we are delighted to welcome Alfonso Diaz, CEO of La Liga’s Real Mallorca. We’ve wanted to do a show featuring a Spanish club for a long time, and Mallorca is a truly unique club to do this with. From an ownership structure featuring legendary NBA All Stars Steve Nash and Steve Kerr, to mobilising not just a hugely passionate local island fanbase, but a booming tourist industry, Real Mallorca is re-establishing itself as one of the country’s most prominent clubs.They have been down to the third division and back over the last ten years, but now after four consecutive seasons in La Liga and a historic run to the Copa del Rey final last year, it’s time to build on the success of the club both on and off the field. Alfonso is playing a key role in this from the business side. The importance of media rights, leveraging shall we call it ‘island status’ to drive brand and partnerships, building a new stadium and enhancing fan experience; this is the inside track on how to run a team in Spain. In today’s show, we discuss:

1. Reemergence of Real Mallorca

- Relegated to the third division of Spanish football in 2017, the club is now off the back of its fourth consecutive year in La Liga.

- What goes into transforming a club? The role of Alfonso and the leadership team in returning this historic club to the top division.

- New ownership from the US including for NBA legends Steve Nash and Steve Kerr, and the value of engaged ownership groups

- The impact of a memorable run to the Copa del Rey final and building bridges with a passionate fanbase.

2. Football finance:

- How do clubs make money?

- The difference in revenue as you move through the divisions; from €5m to €85m and the impact of media rights on a clubs ability to spend.

- The importance of sponsorships and aligning with brands that share the same values.

- What are the opportunities provided by being an island community when driving business growth?

- How the CVC investment of €2bn in La Liga has allowed the clubs to accelerate projects that would have taken them 10 years to finance.

3.Developing club brand:

- The challenges with recovering brand value when on the field performance doesn’t match the history of the club.

- Capitalising on a booming island tourist industry; 17 million people visit the island each year.

- What is the value of being the third most engaged with club in Japan on social media and how to create commercial value off international markets.

- Building a new stadium with a focus on experiential to give the fans more than just the 90 minutes of football they watch each weekend.