Judge slashes the fees of Malaga CF's administrator by almost half following the club's relegation

Malaga CF will only need to pay half of the club's legal administrator's fees following its relegation to the third tier, a judge has ruled.

The judge in the ongoing Sheikh Al-Thani court case, María de los Ángeles Ruiz González, made the order as part of the club's legal proceedings against its ousted former president, who allegedly spent millions of Malaga CF’s funds on high-performance cars and luxury properties, leaving the Andalusian club on the brink of collapse. Al-Thani, who bought the team in 2010 for 36 million euros, now owes the club 8.5m euros, a Spanish court ruled in 2020.

Instead of paying 21,000 euros per month, Malaga CF has been ordered to pay 11,500 plus IVA (Spain's sales tax) to its administrators due to the reduction of the club's income after its relegation last season.

In the new order, dated 18 August 2023, seen by SUR, the judge also reaffirmed her confidence in José María Muñoz as Malaga's administrator following requests for his dismissal. The court ruled that Muñoz will continue to have control of the club's shares, although agreeing for elections to be held to select new managers for the other intervening Al-Thani companies.

The Al-Thani family still without defence

The judge told the court that she had received "as of 17 August the final report of the Judicial Administrator on the current situation of the entity Malaga CF SAD". But she pointed out the issue that the Al-Thani family is still without any defence, since their previous lawyer Vanessa Fernández Lledó resigned last March due to "differences with the clients".

There are two pending court cases against Al-Thani, one of which is whether the Qatari royal must divide his shares (97% of the total) with BlueBay. The hotel group has a long-standing claim that the sheikh reneged on an agreement to give them 49% of his shares.

There are also criminal proceedings (which have meant the club has been in administration for the last three years) pending to determine what crimes, if any, the Al-Thani family are guilty of, including money laundering and misappropriation of club funds.