Real Madrid and Barcelona, being the two biggest clubs in the Spanish League have invested in more player signings over the years than other teams, and will be the most affected by the amendment in the income tax law that will scrap the special concession given to football clubs called the ‘Beckham law’, reports Catalan sports paper Sport.

Aimed at attracting top players to play in Spain, the ‘Beckham Law’ allows a foreign player the benefit of being exempted from paying Spain’s foreign resident income tax of 43%, and  choose to be taxed the nominal 24%, the same as any Spanish resident for a maximum of six years.

At FC Barcelona, this situation would affect all ten of its foreign players as none of them have resided in Spain for more than ten years (when they are considered as resident by law, and are automatically exempted from the high tax rate).

Brazilian Daniel Alves (two plus seven seasons at Sevilla), Argentina’s Gaby Milito (three plus four with Zaragoza) and Mexico’s Rafael Marquez (seven years) having played in Spain for more than six years have already lost their ‘Beckham Law’ privileges.

Other players such as French Eric Abidal and Thierry Henry, Ivorian Yaya Toure (three years) and the Malian Seydou Keita (two with Barca and two with Sevilla), plus new recruits Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Brazilian Maxwell and Ukrainian Dmytro Chygrynskiy, complete the Blaugrana’s ten foreign players affected by the new law if it is enacted.