What is the difference between finishing second or third in LaLiga?

The Spanish LaLiga closes next weekend, with a fight to avoid the final relegation place in the Second Division where up to six teams are relegated (Valladolid, Celta, Almería, Valencia, Getafe and Cádiz).

Above, interest monopolizes the battle for seventh place, with five teams opting for it (Osasuna, Athletic, Girona, Rayo and Sevillewith the Andalusians playing in Wednesday’s Europa League final, with a ticket to the Champions League in case of victory).

There are no more ‘jackpots’ to be distributed on the last day, but there is a possibility of being in a better position, in case of Atletico Madridwho will fight for second place with real Madrid. The whites, who host Athletic, are one point ahead of the colchoneros, who will visit a Villarreal who will be fifth no matter what.

And this goal, which may seem ordinary, is not. And while it’s obvious, the second is not the same as the third. Not because silver is always more valuable than copper and the pride of staying ahead of the eternal rival, but because of an economic issue pending in the noble place of the Metropolitan.

Why finish LaLiga in second position will report an amount between seven and nine million euros more than being third, according to the accounts of other years. A big number for any entity in these times and the rojiblanco team will try to achieve.

CHOLO’S POSTURE, CLEAR

And in case there is any doubt, the thought of Diego Simeone is clear. Already in 2013 he showed his opinion on this matter in an interview with RNE. “If you turn 16, you want to start 15; if you’re sixth, you want to start fifth… You want to start close to first. It’s not the same to start third as second. For me it’s not both. We will try to get as close as possible as much as possible to the first”, said the Argentine, who in 2019 influenced this idea in a press conference: “It doesn’t matter. If you can’t finish first, you have to finish second. You have to aim for what you can get the most”.