Money and Circuses

[Fantozzi 4,068]

First: for soccer clubs in europe there is a basic rule, simplyfied saying: they can't spent more money on new players as they earned in the current season. Maximum deficit is 5 mio Euro.

Second: FC Barcelona settled a transfer fee of 222 mio Euros for their brazilian player Neymar in the strong believe no one can ever afford this.

With some tricks, Paris Saint Germain pays the 222 mio euros for this player.

Now FC Barcelona has 222 mio euros to spend, two weeks before in most european countries new season will start and transfer period ends. Now every club in europe is in fear of a sold out of their players, of a carousel where the smaller clubs will loose.

So this money - put into the market - will make the difference between top clubs and average clubs bigger.

But sports is about competition. Even when betting on sports, it's about competition.

But if money kills all the competition - where is the sense of having sports events?

[matias93 7,535]

You know, association football is every day more a bursatile sport than a field one. Luckily, the second league championships are relatively safe from this, and there competition is still about physical prowess and skill.

[LexusInfernus 908]

20 minutes ago, matias93 said:

You know, association football is every day more a bursatile sport than a field one. Luckily, the second league championships are relatively safe from this, and there competition is still about physical prowess and skill.

Or watch womens soccer. None of them trip over their feet only so they can demand a penalty. 

Hell, during the match between Belgium and the Netherlands two ladies bumped heads, and instead of wussing out they just got some bandages and played on like pro's. 

Though the absolutely insane amounts of money that switch hands in these transfers does beg the question to what degree society should pay up for the costs of it. Who exactly is paying for a new stadium? And who pays for all the police that are present to secure these matches? Are it the clubs or the government and by extension, the tax payer. 

[matias93 7,535]

About the second point you are completely right, there are so many better uses for all that money.

But on respect of the first one, well, it depends on what you value. I enjoy women's football, with all their grit, discipline and endurance, but that's what you find on every professional sport. What makes association football unique is that the competition doesn't end with the match, and everything can be used to win: simulate lesions, make tactical fouls, win matches administratively, etc.

There is some kind of cultural uniqueness, shared with the calcio stórico, that makes football an exception to all social rules and divisions, a way to avenge social injustices when it cannot be done through politics, the reason why most classical derbies are so closely tied with the main political conflicts of a country.

[Fantozzi 4,068]

Sorry - can't buy this. The rich buy the rain forrest so I should enjoy sucking on dessert stones?

Just kidding. Womans soccer is great.

But they could buy a whole team for that money not only a single player and transfer it to another country.

That female soccer players are less pricey and get payed less - why this doesn't calm me on the subject? 

I imagine a sheik getting the idear to collect the most pretty female soccer player of the world in one team. He has one billion dollars.

What do we have to counter?