Wages in football has always been a contentious issue ever since the EPL started and in my opinion it has become ever more so when we had the worldwide pandemic, seeing what doctors and nurses had to put up with to try and keep people alive, themselves becoming infected because their bosses would not provide proper PPE protection with many of them dying and then we look in the papers at players on £200,000, £300,000 plus a week wanting more or complaining that they are being asked to take a pay cut and we see nurses and doctors, a huge majority of them on less than £50,000 a year, putting their own lives in danger so they can save others. The pandemic has opened the eyes of more people in my opinion to the sickening amount of wages football players get and continue to get.
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The 2022-2023 Football Thread
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Probably the best outcome for both parties. Utd needed a new number 1 and his skillset doesn't suit contemporary football where GKs play from the back. Also 375k is a lot.
They could get a better GK and pay less.
If it wasn't for massive paydays the EPL wouldn't have got to where it is today.
But at least the EPL is in England which is a lot different than that other destination.
Caps on transfer fees and players wages should have been brought in when the first million pound transfer occurred because it was very obvious things were only going to get worse as the years went on and they did. Clubs started demanding higher transfer fees because lets face it, if a club was prepared to pay a transfer fee of £1 million for Trevor Francis, clubs would be prepared to go higher. Also players started demanding higher wages.
Then came along the EPL with it's desire to make as much money as it can from the game with it's multi billion pound sponsorships, advertising and television deals. The EPL has a lot to answer for for they way the game has gone with clubs, players and agents all now wanting to see how fat their bank balances can get.
Once the wage cap (which was a form of wage slavery) had been lifted, some version of this was always going to happen.
It is more complex than that.
The EPL has served to sever - to some extent - the link between clubs and fans (and thus, the link between clubs and their actual geographical location) by reducing clubs' financial dependence on gate receipts when calculating where their earnings actually come from.
As a consequence of the EPL, clubs received increased income from TV rights, and, in turn, that served to expand their global reach (and their potential global income) as a "brand".
This means that they depend less on what they earn from fans (even with increased stadium capacity, which was the old fashioned way of maximising income), and that, in turn, also means that fans have a lot less say in what takes place with whatever choices (re ownership, player purchases, mangerial appointees, etc) the club makes.
Not only them.
The biggest problem with the EPL, to my mind, lies in the increased inequality, both within the Pemier League, (for example, only a very few clubs, realistically, have a chance of winning the title these days), and the growing inequality (and wealth) between the Premier League, the financial position of the leagues lying immediately below it.
I believe the Bosman ruling was also instrumental in the current state of affairs.
The EPL being from a larger and more economically powerfull European country was always bound to come on top.
And before the influx of foreign capital (let's call it that) was much more aligned with other larger leagues. Not today of course.
On a brighter note, Di Maria which despite past his prime is undoubtedly still an awesome footballer agreed to return and play once again for us (Benfica). He will certainly be loosing a lot of money.
The EPL being from a larger and more economically powerfull European country was always bound to come on top.
And before the influx of foreign capital (let's call it that) was much more aligned with other larger leagues. Not today of course.
On a brighter note, Di Maria which despite past his prime is undoubtedly still an awesome footballer agreed to return and play once again for us (Benfica). He will certainly be loosing a lot of money.
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35yr old winger, other teams will eat him up alive. Wingers need pace to be able to go past their man to be able to set up the goal for the striker. He has bundles of experience but pace he has not. Probably a year left in him then he is done in my opinion.
We do not usually play in that tradicional wingers/striker role, it's more possession based. Even the forward players aren't that well suited to get winger crosses.
And the league is usually won playing against smaller teams. I'm more worried about injuries than his usefulness when in his normal fitness.
But of course everybody knows it's a ticking clock, he only signed a one year contract and what we can afford to pay him while probably one of the biggest salaries is something almost all EPL clubs could afford.
We have some younger talent coming up that we will be soon selling for 100+ M€ (more depressing than happy).
And the league is usually won playing against smaller teams. I'm more worried about injuries than his usefulness when in his normal fitness.
But of course everybody knows it's a ticking clock, he only signed a one year contract and what we can afford to pay him while probably one of the biggest salaries is something almost all EPL clubs could afford.
We have some younger talent coming up that we will be soon selling for 100+ M€ (more depressing than happy).
An excellent and very relevant point, and thank you for the timely reminder of the Bosman ruling, and its continuing relevance to this particular topic.
I should have thought of this myself. Mea culpa.
Brighton demanding £100m for Caicedo from Chelsea in a classic case of "well Arsenal paid £100m for Rice"
Effectively wanting to make £97m profit from one player.
Effectively wanting to make £97m profit from one player.
Brighton is certainly well aware of Chelsea's tendency to throw money around like a drunken sailor, so I don't blame them one bit.
Completely agree with you.
Good luck to Brighton.
If we had another spare £100 million (not sure that I would completely concur with this particular valuation, but, perhaps this is his current market value), I would make an offer for Caicedo myself.
Neither do I. If you do have to lose your star players, no sense in giving them away.
In my opinion it is a bit disingenuous of Brighton to use the wording 'setting the benchmark' when referring to the transfer price of Declan Rice. Just because a team paid £105 million does mean other players who play in the same position are automatically priced the same because that is the 'benchmark'.
A player should be valued honestly and fairly. If Brighton do not want to sell then they should just say no. Is Caicedo worth the same value as Rice? not by a long shot. Yes he is a good player but no way is he worth £105 million just because Brighton are using it as a 'benchmark'.
So how many other clubs are now going to say 'Our player is worth £105 million because that's the 'benchmark'. It's utterly ridiculous and the FA needs to step in to get these transfer prices under control.
A player should be valued honestly and fairly. If Brighton do not want to sell then they should just say no. Is Caicedo worth the same value as Rice? not by a long shot. Yes he is a good player but no way is he worth £105 million just because Brighton are using it as a 'benchmark'.
So how many other clubs are now going to say 'Our player is worth £105 million because that's the 'benchmark'. It's utterly ridiculous and the FA needs to step in to get these transfer prices under control.
Agree each player has a unique value. However if the market is up, all players suddenly start getting expensive.
Crazy times (unless you have a state sponsored ownership!).
Edwin Van da Sa the former Manchester United goalkeeper has been admitted to hospital with bleeding in the brain.
Hope he is ok. He is only 52.
Hope he is ok. He is only 52.
I believe van der Sar's wife also had a cerebral hemorrhage when he was playing for United. Sending lots of good energy to the big guy.