But the harsh reality is that there is too much money involved in football, and until something is done about it, it will continue to rise. UEFA’s Financial Fair Play will surely go some way toward eradicating such ludicrous sums of money, yet it is unlikely that football will even be in reach of anyone without a few million in their banks.
While there is little use in complaining about the sums of money involved in the sport it is still questionable as to whether such fees are necessary. Do football clubs really need to spend so much in order to be successful? My earlier points will surely point to ‘yes’; something further justified by looking at the top leagues of most countries where the same few teams regularly dominate unless challenged by an emerging force courtesy of a billionaire bankrolling them.
Yet some clubs may argue otherwise. Borussia Dortmund, despite being one of the most exciting teams currently in the world, are cheaply assembled. Their starting XI in last season’s Champions League Final accumulated to less than £38m. This amount becomes even more impressive when you consider that £15m of that was spent on just one player (Marco Reus). Furthermore, this doesn’t include there talisman Götze (prior to becoming a Bayern player, who came through the Dortmund youth academy). The starting XI versus their Champions League nemesis in the German Super Cup last weekend, which they won 4-2, is of a similar price.
Other examples of success despite an insignificant cost point to Arsenal and Barcelona. Despite failing to win any silverware across an amount of years I’m sure several Tottenham fans would like to clarify, Arsenal have consistently reached the top four of the Premier League and knockout stages of the Champions League, despite Arsène Wenger’s reluctance to release the purse strings; an achievement that, however frustrating for Gooners, is certainly impressive. And although Barcelona have spent big sums in the past, their core of Victor Valdes, Carles Puyol, Gerard Piqué, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Pedro Rodríguez and of course, Lionel Messi, all came through their youth academy. So too did Cesc Fàbregas and Jordi Alba (although they returned to the club for a larger fee). Surely there is no bigger advertisement than the basis for both arguably the best club and national sides in history?
These examples point to youth investment and it is a valid point. Why buy a star when you can make one? German football as a whole has proved how this can be achieved with a complete overhaul of their youth system which is now reaping generous rewards, while Spain continuously seem to turn out top youngsters every season. Unfortunately, it is obviously not as simple as that.
The main issue of course is that of stability. With football being so largely dominated by money, rarely do managers have the time to work on building a team of young, inexpensive players, with both fans and owners demanding instant success. The sack comes more often than not, and a new manager with different footballing philosophies will create a further setback in ever becoming self sustainable.
So perhaps, even with the given examples of how success can be achieved on a smaller transfer budget, the whole concept becomes a moot point. People will complain that there is too much money spent on transfer fees and wages, yet will complain if the money isn’t spent (case in point Arsenal fans). Honestly, how many fans would accept relegation from the Premiership in return for little money being spent on players, let alone any considered ‘marquee signings’? It doesn’t sound a particularly attractive proposition.
With the money that comes with being successful, it would appear that teams crave instant success, and the best way of getting that is by spending big. While these unbelievable transfer fees may seem too high, it is surely just a way of re investing your portion available; transfers haven’t risen as drastically as they may seem when put into context of how much money is now available, and to spend more is to make more.
Therefore, perhaps it is simply the demand to become a part of the sport we love and the people at FIFA who inject immeasurably high amounts of money into the game, and high transfer fees are just an inevitable by product of this influx; they simply remain in context with the amount of money available. £60m is the new £20m. That being said, given the choice between Luis Suarez and £50m, I know what I’d choose…
What do you think? Are transfer fees extortionate? Are transfer fees independently far too much, or are they as a result of there being far too much money in the game as a whole? How could FIFA lessen the amount involved in the game? The irony of asking questions that money may not be able to answer…
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