The Indie:
Real Madrid are on the verge of signing a £543m television deal that will be "the most important contract in the history of world sport", according to the club's president, Ramon Calderon. "The deal guarantees us €800m over seven seasons and will be signed in the next few days," a club spokesman said.
The contract, for domestic games, will not be worth as much per year as Barcelona's next TV deal - a five-year package due to start in 2008 worth £81.4m a year - but Real's contract will be the most valuable overall.
Spanish clubs are allowed to negotiate individual deals with broadcasters, hence Real and Barcelona's ability to secure huge sums. That is not the case in England, where clubs negotiate collectively. The biggest earners in the Premiership last season from domestic TV alone were Manchester United (£30.65m), followed by Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. Earnings vary depending on finishing position and the number of times each club's games are screened live.
However, the collective deal in the Premiership means that the income differential from television is relatively small between the top and bottom clubs, with the champions earning perhaps twice as much as the bottom side. In countries where clubs do individual deals, notably Italy and now Spain, the domestic TV earnings of the biggest clubs can outstrip the smallest in their division by 25 to one.
The world's best TV deals
Barcelona £81.4m
Real Madrid £77.54m
Milan £67.82m
Man Utd £30.65m
Chelsea £30.41m
Liverpool £28.83m
Arsenal £28.72m