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"The ambition is not to be an example, but to do things well or very well. It is clear that when you are the first major league to take the plunge, many will look at us." The speaker for EL MUNDO is Barcelona's Fernando Carro. Former Bertelsmann executive and, since May 2019, CEO of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a historic sports center on the continent . The club was founded 115 years ago by the employees of the pharmaceutical company Bayer, its first football team ranks fifth in the Bundesliga classification and will face Werder Bremen next Monday.

" Obviously, the suspension of the competition would have jeopardized the viability of some clubs and therefore the German professional leagues as we know them today . As in all major leagues, the revenue from television rights would have been seen severely depleted and these are the mainstays of many clubs. It is also true that in the Bundesliga some measures and initiatives have been taken to help clubs at risk, such as the so-called solidarity fund that we created at Bayern Munich, the Borussia from Dortmund, RB Leipzig and our club, Bayer ", explains Carro.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper published a report in which it recorded a loss of 735 million euros from failing to complete the Bundesliga . Playing behind closed doors, but playing after all, will mean reducing losses to 240 million. In Spain, the founding partner of Mediapro, Jaume Roures, assured in conversation with this newspaper that Europe would lose 7.5 billion euros if football could not be resumed (between 600 and 700 million in Spain).

"It is clear that it would not have been the same in the event of suspension, and that playing behind closed doors the income will not be the same. But it is a lesser evil. In this extraordinary situation those who know how to adapt to the circumstances will come out ahead and I think that we as a competition are trying to do it ", explains Carro de Prada.

And the soccer players? Can a club force a footballer to play? Or is participation voluntary? In no case will anyone be forced to play. It wouldn't make any sense. But so far no one has expressed doubts about it. They know they have us with any questions or concerns they may have. It should also be borne in mind that the coronavirus has not affected to the same extent in Germany as in Spain. The situation here is much more moderate.

In Spain, Javier Tebas has been crying out that security in the Spanish League would be total if his plans are fulfilled and the First and Second divisions can resume their journey in mid-June. "The risk is practically non-existent," says the employer's president. Fernando Carro agrees: " There are several studies that show that the risk of contagion during matches is minimal . In addition, it is important to test regularly so that the risk is practically zero. Additionally, in the Bundesliga we apply a very detailed, professional protocol and elaborated on objective medical-scientific knowledge. It offers the greatest security that can be obtained ".

The footballers, before starting to play this weekend, will have already undergone five rounds of tests to detect the coronavirus. From here, it will be two per week. Always one a day before playing each game.

On what foundations has this return to football been prepared? The extraordinary health system that we enjoy in Germany, together with the experience and good work of German politicians, have contributed to the coronavirus not affecting the German population as much and, Ultimately, they have made this whole move back to competition possible. German football has done detailed work to develop a very detailed, scientifically based protocol based on three pillars (the health protocol, the test system and the organizational protocol). Without forgetting the union and commitment of all levels, both sports and political and social. A proposal was launched from the sports field and the Government picked up the glove. Now we have the responsibility to continue working with precision, commitment and caution.

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