In a world where we are supposed to be feeling the tightening squeeze of Financial Fair Play, the issues of the biggest clubs getting rid of their debt, and clubs searching for any bargain buys in order to make some extra cash, but this summer feels like a spending free-for-all. Realize that this is not coming from a guy that roots for a smaller club that cannot afford to jump into the ocean of 50 million-dollar-buys, but this is coming directly from a guy that (when push comes to shove) sees his allegiances fall at Stevie G’s feet and with a club that is part of a growing issue in soccer. This spending is reaching a scary zenith…and world football (fans/players/executives alike) should be scared.
While everyone is aware (and there is actually a full article on it) of the impulse buys that follow a World Cup, this summer has gotten to severe points of ridiculousness. To imagine that James Rodriguez, despite having a phenomenal World Cup, would fetch an amount similar to Luis Suarez is laughable. However, to think that Luis Suarez (or any player) fetches around 100 million (of any currency) is a problem. The big clubs have created a situation where the worth of a player is getting inflated to problem regions. While Luke Shaw might become a legend for Manchester United, a wing-back (at any age) should never cost more than 10-15 million.
To think that we are only a few seasons removed from cringing at 35 million pounds for Andy Carroll. In today’s market, if you based it off of his pre-Liverpool transfer performances, that might be seen as proper transfer business! To drop all bias, Messi (given his age/talent/past accolades) is the best player currently in the game…but to think that ANY player is worth the $200 million that some teams were rumored to be lining up is preposterous. There are some MAJOR clubs in soccer where that amount of money could buy you majority ownership. It probably takes less money to buy yourself a World Cup (too soon?).
The only way to fix this is for UEFA or FIFA to take a true stand. Otherwise, we may approach the day where a 35-year-old Joey Barton is worth 30 million Euros. Financial Fair Play has to start swinging some serious power around and making clubs think twice before overspending and going deeper into debt. The summer spending already makes me sick to my stomach (and I typically enjoy the “fun” surrounding transfers) and we are still a full month away from the transfer window closing. Even Arsene Wenger is spending like a mad-man…the world is broken. Can anybody fix it? Or is this the future?
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