Hristo Stoichkov believes the La Liga season should be wound-up early due to the coronavirus crisis, crowning the Barcelona icon’s old side champions.
The Spanish league is on an indefinite hiatus with the nation finding itself one of the worst affected in Europe, suffering more than 12,000 deaths.
After 27 matches, Barcelona hold a two-point lead amid their tight battle with Real Madrid, Getafe are within touching distance of Champions League qualification, Celta Vigo hover a point above the drop, while Mallorca, Leganes and Espanyol all sit in the relegation zone.
“If we see how the situation is, with the matches which have been played, it would be fairer to end the La Liga season as it is now,’ Stoichkov told Tiempo de Juego.
“Many teams could stay up at the bottom, there are a lot of matches left.“They could leave the league as it is, have no relegation and the top two from Segunda could get promoted to have a 22 team league. Because they have also done a lot of work to win many matches.’
Leagues across the world are battling to find solutions to the crisis, while the Belgian first division has been the first European top-flight division cancelled.
The financial dangers, including broadcasters seeking a rebate of their huge TV deals and the threat of a bizarre blip in the game’s history books, are likely to force games to be played behind closed doors.
UEFA have set a deadline of completing this season’s Champions League before August 3, but without finished leagues, qualification for the following season is a complex dilemma.
Stoichkov’s suggestion could leave many sides feeling short-changed, especially the likes of Getafe, who need to only improve their goal difference to earn their first Champions League qualification.
The former winger made 175 La Liga appearances for Barcelona, winning five titles, a Champions League and eight domestic trophies. The Bulgarian featured alongside the likes of Pep Guardiola, Romario, Gheorghe Hagi and Ronald Koeman, and called Johan Cruyff boss at the Nou Camp.
Culled from dailymail.co.uk
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