Besides truckloads of cold hard cash, what do a
Russian oligarch, an Arab sheikh, an Indian fried-chicken tycoon and an
American NFL franchiser have in common? No, not just their women – all these
wealthy gentlemen are proud owners of
their very own Barclays Premier League football clubs.
Such a situation would have been unimaginable a
couple of decades ago, but foreign ownership, multi-million-dollar player
transfers, massive television rights and sponsorship deals have changed the
beautiful game forever. The game just isn’t that beautiful anymore, some
purists argue, bitterly. Others, like myself, take a more progressive view on
things. Football, just like any other walk of life, needs to change with time.
The commercialisation of the game has been a welcome boost to everyone –
players, coaches, owners and even us fans!
Think about it, which
one of us doesn’t love to read about that huge £35 million signing by Manchester City or Real Madrid? Which little boy wouldn’t want to adorn a pair of Nike Mercurials
like the one’s he sees his hero Cristiano Ronaldo wear in all the ads? Who wouldn’t want
to watch live coverage of the European Cup Final on television? It’s the money
that runs the sport today, it doesn’t
ruin it.
Transfers are another
major talking-point. Some argue that it’s the basest form of human slavery. Rubbish, in my opinion. The average
Premier League footballer earns over £20,000-a-week. If that’s what you call slavery then sign me up! This much-criticised
system of unscrupulous buying and selling of players works wonders for a sport.
If it didn’t, then why would India –
the perennial imitators of the West – come up with the IPL, based on the exact
same model?
Call me old-fashioned,
but I also take interest in what happens on
the pitch and not just in the Board Rooms. For my breed, there are still
90-minutes of heart-throbbing action on the telly every weekend and I am
eternally grateful to ESPN - Star-Sports for that luxury. The 2011/2012 season
looks set to be another richly entertaining thrill-a-minute ride. Now it’s up to
the players to listen to their massive American sponsor Nike‘s Portuguese
slogan – Joga Bonito. Play Beautiful.
I warned you - it’s all about the money.
Great article. No team besides Barca really has a core consisting solely of home grown players. If it wasn't for transfers, Ronaldo would still be playing in Portugal, and those Nikes wouldn't BE available. The only people who whine about football teams spending too much money or the fans of those clubs who don't have it ;P
ReplyDeleteI agree and yet disagree. You're right about Barcelona's flourishing youth system but that isn't something that can work everywhere. Just look at Arsenal!
ReplyDeleteAlso, people who complain usually don't have issues with players moving from small-clubs to big-clubs like Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United. They seem to dislike the greed factor when players like Anelka, Tevez, Adebayor and Robinho seem to do the rounds of all the big teams just for the money.