European football is a cash-rich affair. After each passing year, the coffers of nearly every top club in the continent invariably sees an uptick. Clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have broken every transfer record in the recent past, skewing the averages of the player market.
Sums being doled out have reached astronomical numbers. Recently, Lionel Messi signed a new deal at Barcelona, which was estimated to be around €450 million. The buyout clause has been set at €700 million. During the summer, PSG signed Brazilian striker Neymar for €222 million from Barcelona. The La Liga club then went on to sign 20-year-old striker Ousmane Dembélé of France for €105 million from Borussia Dortmund. Last year, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba was signed for €101 million from Juventus. Within a year, the transfer amounts involved in football have grown beyond one’s imagination.
In the summer transfer window alone, over two billion pounds were spent by leagues across Europe. The Premier League accounted for the largest amount.
As these big spenders get into a spending race, old legacy clubs are struggling to keep up pace with the new top dogs.
Despite the trend, there are many top clubs who have resisted spending such amounts on star players and have focused on forming a competitive team. Liverpool is one such club that has desisted from spending big and focusing on building a squad instead of chasing superstar signings in the market.
The club which dominated football in Europe in the 1970s and 80s have actively sought to relive their glorious spell, but are doing so in their own way.
In the past two decades, Liverpool have not gotten entangled in the race of scooping up the biggest stars of the transfer market. Their biggest performers in the last decade have been former England captain Steven Gerrard, who came through the ranks, and Luis Suarez, who joined them from Ajax, for a modest sum of €26.5 million.
The Field caught up with Liverpool legends Sami Hyypia, Robbie Fowler, Luis Garcia and Vladimir Smicer, who presented their views on the argument.
“If I was a manger of a club and if I sell someone for $100 million then I will have $100 million to spend. If the money is going around like this then it is fine,” said former Liverpool defender Hyypia.
“When Pogba went to Manchester United, he was the most expensive player at that time. Does it help him? Everyone was watching him like he should be showing something more and kept him under pressure. Does it help?,” asked Smicer.
‘Can’t control the market’
However, Smicer said that the unpredictability of the market is the reason behind such high transfer amounts. “You can’t control the market you know. Someone offered 222 million Euros for Neymar. It is crazy, isn’t it? Neymar’s value maybe $400 million, who knows the value of players?”
However, Garcia said that the growth of football across the globe is also the reason clubs are ready to pay such amounts on particular players. “Last week I was checking how football has been growing in all the departments such as money. It has never stopped. It has always been increasing. Twenty years back everyone thought it will stop but it kept on increasing. So it is something you cannot stop,” said Garcia.
Accruing debt
Most top clubs receive heavy cash infusions through their new owners, who in this day and age can range from oligarchs in Russia to businessmen in Asia. In the case of clubs like PSG and City, it’s Qatari and Emirati owners respectively.
Those clubs, who do not fall in this category, have to grapple with the bullish transfer market, where the top players go for astronomical sums that make little financial sense.
“It will be a problem when we overspend. Then big clubs will go down because they can’t pay anymore and go bankrupt. Then it is going to be a problem. At the moment, people have too much money and hence it is not a problem,” said Hyypia.
In the past, clubs such as Leeds United, Portsmouth went into administration due to large player salaries. Their debt got out of hand, leaving the club in disarray. In 2010, Chester City had to shut shop as they couldn’t sustain the rising debt. So there is a history of clubs suffering due to their ridiculous spending without thinking of the long term effects.
Garcia said that there needs to be a middle ground. “It should be a little more balanced but it is difficult. The market wanted to pay that amount for Neymar because Neymar is the best player in the world.”
Pressure on players
End of the day, these big sums do not guarantee returns on investment. Pogba was clearly under pressure to perform in his first season at Manchester United. Neymar has had a decent start to his career at PSG, however, the opposition’s caliber does come under scrutiny.
“It is not the players’ fault if somebody is paying so much money. If somebody offers you $100 you will not say ‘no, no, I prefer 50’. That doesn’t happen. For me, interest in football is so high that is reason behind the rising prices. If there is no interest in football, TV channels won’t spend money to show it. Then football wouldn’t get the money,” said Hyypia.
Fowler backed Hyypia’s argument as well. “Everyone mentions money all the time. Players don’t mention money. It has nothing to do with players. So there is no pressure on the players. We go out there, we play the game, we enjoy the game. We play the game because we love it not because I want x amount of money. It doesn’t matter. It is that simple.”