MADRID — Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao are taking legal action against LaLiga over a €1.994-billion private equity deal that the administrators of elite Spanish soccer agreed last week, the clubs said on Wednesday.

All but five of the 42 clubs in the top two divisions signed up to the €1.994 billion ($2.24 billion) investment from CVC Capital Partners, the first of its kind in Europe.

Four clubs, including the top flight trio, opted out and one abstained.

The deal was “an illegal transaction that causes irreparable damage to the entire Spanish football sector and flagrantly violates the most elementary principles of Spanish sports law and the LaLiga statutes,” Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao said in a statement announcing legal action and published on their websites.

The agreement, dubbed “LaLiga Boost,” buys CVC an 8.2% stake in a new company that will get broadcasting revenues and sponsorship rights for 50 years.

It commits clubs to allocating 70% of funds for investments to new infrastructure and modernization projects. Up to 15% can be used to sign players, with the remaining 15% for reducing debt.

The CVC deal looked at risk of unravelling last week when Barcelona, Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao proposed an alternative proposal for JPMorgan, Bank of America and HSBC to jointly lend €2 billion in exchange for a fixed annual payment of €115 million over 25 years, a document seen by Reuters showed.

Barcelona and Real Madrid were also among the driving forces behind a failed plan to launch a breakaway European Super League earlier this year, and vowed to continue to try to set it up. — Reuters

MANCHESTER, England — Soccer clubs spent $500.8 million in fees to agents in 2020, more than in the previous year, despite a drop in spending on transfers, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) said in a report published on Wednesday.

FIFA said that club spending on transfer fees shrank for the second year in a row, due to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but that “this decrease did not carry over to spending on intermediary service fees, which remained on the same level as in 2020 and even slightly increased by 0.7%.”

European clubs accounted for 95.8% of the total spent on ‘intermediary service fees,’ with clubs from England ($133.3m), Germany ($84.3m), Italy ($73.5m), Spain ($34.8m), France ($30.3m) and Portugal ($29.3m) responsible for 77% of the total sum worldwide.

The FIFA report comes as world soccer’s governing body is seeking to alter regulations for football agents. — Reuters

LONDON — Arsenal moved into the Premier League’s top four at West Ham United’s expense as goals by Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe earned a 2-0 win in a lively London derby on Wednesday.

Brazilian forward Martinelli struck just after halftime with a clinical finish and substitute fellow youngster Smith Rowe eventually gave a dominant Arsenal some welcome breathing space with a superb 87^th-minute effort.

It could have been a more comfortable night for Arsenal had Alexandre Lacazette, captain again in place of the disciplined Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, not had his penalty saved midway through the second half.

West Ham, for whom Vladimir Coufal was red-carded after conceding the penalty, failed to produce the kind of form that has seen them stationed in the top four since October.

They huffed and puffed and threatened sporadically but home keeper Aaron Ramsdale’s only real save was from a Jarrod Bowen effort shortly after Martinelli’s opener.

Victory hoisted Arsenal up two places into fourth spot with 29 points from 17 games with West Ham on 28.

The pre-match buildup had been dominated by Arsenal’s decision to strip Aubameyang of the captaincy for another lapse of discipline. But just as in the comfortable win against Southampton at the weekend, Arsenal did not miss him.

Mikel Arteta’s side responded with a vibrant second-half display after a rather scrappy opening half hour, with French forward Lacazette, who also wore the armband against Southampton, leading by example.

“Really pleased with the attitude, the commitment, the quality that we showed in the game,” Arteta told reporters.

“The players play for the club and the pride that we expect from them. I was really happy from the beginning, because we knew that we had to play really good today to beat West Ham.”

On Lacazette’s leadership, Arteta added: “He’s next in line. It’s in his nature. He’s not a selfish player. He’s a player that’s happy when he makes the team better.”

‘GOOD INTENSITY’

Disappointing as they were, West Ham’s players were furious at Anthony Taylor’s decision to show Coufal a second yellow card. Replays showed he had made contact with the ball before sending Lacazette tumbling for the penalty, although Moyes was in no mood to make excuses.

“I didn’t think a lot of our performance generally, Arsenal played well with good intensity and we couldn’t deal with it,” Moyes said. “(Coufal) got the ball, but he should have got more of the ball.”

A frantic opening half saw West Ham’s Craig Dawson slice the first chance of the night high and wide while Pablo Fornals curled a right-footed effort wide for the visitors.

But as halftime approached Arsenal were dominating and were close to taking the lead when Kieran Tierney’s fiercely-struck shot was touched on to the crossbar by keeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Fabianski was then alert to keep out Lacazette’s shot before Dawson produced a goal-saving tackle to stop Martinelli pouncing on the rebound.

It did not take Arsenal long to take the lead in the second half as Lacazette was given too much space and time to slide a pass through to Martinelli who calmly shot past Fabianski.

Lacazette was a constant menace and went down under a challenge from Coufal and the referee pointed to the spot, before showing the Czech defender a second yellow card.

Fabianski saved Lacazette’s spot kick and as further chances went begging it seemed Arsenal might pay for their failure to finish off the lackluster visitors.

But Smith Rowe came off the bench and soon raced on to a pass by the impressive Bukayo Sako before curling home left-footed to make the points safe. — Reuters

THE Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals have the easiest paths to the playoffs in Week 15, all needing just a tie to earn a trip to the postseason.

The difference is the Packers (10-3) can clinch the National Football Conference (NFC) North just by tying the Baltimore Ravens and the Bucs (10-3) can do the same in the NFC South with a tie against New Orleans. The Cardinals (10-3), meanwhile, will clinch a playoff berth but not the NFC West with at least a tie in Detroit.

The Packers would still clinch the division with a loss in Baltimore if the Minnesota Vikings (6-7) lose or tie on Monday night against Chicago.

No team has clinched a playoff berth through the first 14 weeks.

Another division could get clinched in the NFC on Sunday as well.

The Dallas Cowboys (9-4) need a win over the New York Giants and help to clinch the NFC East. A loss or tie by Washington would do it for the Cowboys, provided they win.

The Rams (9-4) could clinch a playoff spot with a tie or win against Seattle, plus help.

In the American Football Conference (AFC), the Tennessee Titans (9-4) will clinch the AFC South with a win in Pittsburgh and a loss by the Indianapolis Colts.

The only other team in the AFC that could punch its ticket to the playoffs is the New England Patriots (9-4), who need a win over the Colts and help. The Colts and Patriots play on Saturday night. — Reuters

DEVONTE’ Graham made one of the greatest game-winning buzzer-beaters in National Basketball Association (NBA) history, banking in a 61-footer to give the New Orleans Pelicans a thrilling 113-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

Just moments before Graham’s heave from three-quarters court, the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nailed a deep 3-pointer of his own with 1.4 seconds left to tie the game. Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30-footer came as he was avoiding a foul that would have sent him to the free-throw line for two shots.

However, Graham stole the show moments later, taking one dribble and launching from near the opposing 3-point arc. His miracle shot sent Oklahoma City to its third consecutive loss and 13^th in 16 games.

According to ESPN, Graham’s shot was the longest game-winning buzzer-beater in the NBA in the last 25 years. Additionally, ESPN noted that Wednesday’s thriller marked the first game in the last 25 seasons to feature two tying or go-ahead baskets of at least 30 feet in the final five seconds of a game.

Before Graham’s shot, Brandon Ingram (34 points) scored the Pelicans’ previous 10 points. He tied the game with a layup and then put the visitors ahead with a steal and a dunk on the next possession.

Jonas Valančiūnas had 19 points and 16 rebounds for New Orleans, while Graham added 15 points and eight assists.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points to lead the Thunder, making all nine of his free throws. In fact, Oklahoma City made all 19 of its free-throw tries — 14 in the fourth quarter.

The Thunder bench scored 52 points, including 17 from Kenrich Williams and 16 by Mike Muscala. Williams tied a career high with five 3-pointers.

Through three quarters, the Pelicans held a 26-5 edge in free-throw attempts. But in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City got to the line repeatedly, including Muscala being fouled twice by Garrett Temple on 3-point tries during a 30-second stretch early in the fourth.

Going toe-to-toe with Ingram, Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 3-pointer with just under 30 seconds left to pull Oklahoma City within one. He then made a pair of free throws to keep the game within reach before drilling his fourth 3-pointer just before Graham’s desperation shot stunned the home crowd. — Reuters