Op-Ed: “Commission v Fútbol Club Barcelona: The need to conduct an ex ante analysis in State aid law and its practical implications” by Juan Jorge Piernas López

On 4 March 2021, the Court of Justice delivered its judgment in Commission v Fútbol Club Barcelona (C-362/19 P). The judgment concerned an appeal brought by the European Commission against a judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber), delivered on 26 February 2019, which annulled a Commission Decision related to alleged fiscal State aid granted by Spain to certain football clubs, namely Fútbol Club Barcelona, Club Atlético Osasuna, Athletic Club Bilbao and Real Madrid Club de Fútbol.

The origins of the case go back to November 2009, when the Commission received ‘detailed information sent by citizens’ concerning possible preferential corporate tax treatment of the abovementioned Spanish football clubs in comparison to public li