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May 14, 2025

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2025
Too much money: Football’s kryptonite?

Sports

Shams Rahman
30 May, 2020, 01:55 pm
Last modified: 16 July, 2020, 06:43 pm

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Too much money: Football’s kryptonite?

Huge transfer fees have inflated the whole transfer market but that is not the worst part. The most horrible thing is, these humongous transfer fees have created a polarisation among clubs - the ones who can pay big and the ones who can not.

Shams Rahman
30 May, 2020, 01:55 pm
Last modified: 16 July, 2020, 06:43 pm
Since Neymar’s big-money move to PSG, the whole transfer market has become inflated more and more with every passing year. Photo: Reuters
Since Neymar’s big-money move to PSG, the whole transfer market has become inflated more and more with every passing year. Photo: Reuters

Imagine this. It is 2005, I walk up to you while you are watching a game of football and tell you, "You know what, good players will cost you 100 million Euros a decade later."

If I am lucky and you do not hit me to bring me back to my senses, the least you would do is say that I need to be sent to the Arkham Asylum for treatment. 

Well, it is 2020 and if that scenario was true, I would be laughing at you. Because football has seen extravagant transfer fees paid in recent years, especially after Neymar moved to PSG for an unbelievable 222 million Euros. 

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These huge transfer fees have inflated the whole transfer market but that is not the worst part. The most horrible thing is, these humongous transfer fees have created a polarisation among clubs - the ones who can pay big and the ones who can not. And that has already made football boring and will continue to do so even more in the future. How? The answers are somewhat terrifying. 

How has it made football boring? 

Well, money has created an immense polarisation among those who can pay the big bucks and those who can not. It is not about reputation or history, it is about the money in the bank. Clubs like Arsenal have more history but it is Manchester City who have the cash and thus end up with a stronger squad. 

This not only widens the gap between clubs at the top and the bottom but also creates a small group of possible title contenders everywhere. A team like Leicester City might win the league out of the blue but with more and more money inflating the market even more, at some point these will become a possibility too little to even consider. 

This takes a precious point from the game which is its unpredictability. When a team like Barcelona or Real Madrid will keep on bolstering their squad with their money, teams like Getafe will suffer for their inability to do that. Thus, the trophies only go to the clubs who have more money. 

This inevitably makes the game boring than ever as we might never see a club like Porto win the Uefa Champions League (UCL) again. The money came in to make the game more interesting but it only managed to move it towards being dull. 

What are the future implications? 

This polarisation has been a naked truth for the last few years already as only the big spenders win the title everywhere. PSG, Bayern Munich and Juventus have ruled their respective leagues and it is only a matter of time it spreads throughout.

The rich will only get richer and the poor will only get poorer. Football will see its own form of capitalism rise as small clubs will fall to keep up with the big fish. This, as mentioned before, will only lead to creating a syndicate of big teams who will get their hands on all the trophies. 

This will also see a new era as wealthier investors will look forward to investing in football just like what is happening with Newcastle United. While this has an intriguing future as the gap might be closed but this will also only bring in more inflation, which might lead to even more chaos in the financial sector of football - resulting in its collapse. 

Uefa are trying hard with their Financial Fair Play (FFP) to put a leash on the rich clubs and maintain the balance of the force. But PSG decided to act like Darth Vader and we can already see the results. But the question still remains, is money football's kryptonite? 

It might be, but we all hope that it is not. 

Football

FC Barcelona / real madrid / Neymar / psg

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