Modern Football Gripes

 

Modern football, what is it good for? (sang to the tune of War by Edwin Starr). I am tempted to say absolutely nothing and you might have a differing view on it or I might just be an old man who preferred football from years before.

You might wonder why I am exasperated with modern football. Transfer fees have increased year after year since I started watching football in 1991. There have already been two 100 million Euros and above transfer fees in this transfer window despite the financial difficulty brought about by the COVID pandemic. The wealth of football is concentrated in the English Premier League and that is no fault of anyone associated with the league. The merit of the league; its publicity and marketing is far better than any of their counterparts in Europe and as such, it is an extremely popular product in the world of sports which is why Premier League clubs earn a lot from TV rights despite a loss of gate receipts due to the COVID pandemic. While the rest of Europe, spends prudently, English clubs can spend more freely as they have more in their coffers.

Outside the English Premier League, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is the only club that can afford to spend. They have signed 4 big-name players, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum, Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi on a free transfer but all on massive wages. They have signed Achraf Hakimi in a deal worth up to 70 million Euros as well. These players are added to a team that already has other big-name players on big wages. It is a modern-day Galaticos team but unlike in the past, there is Financial Fair Play (FFP) today and this has forced many clubs to take some measures to comply with the regulations. Taking into account whatever PSG are spending on wages and transfer fees, you do wonder if they comply with FFP and if they don’t, how are they getting by? You start contemplating favouritism from UEFA towards them or worse still UEFA has been bribed to keep their mouth shut and eyes closed on their activities.

The traditional big names in Italian and Spanish football are struggling to spend and are facing financial difficulties due to the COVID pandemic except for AC Milan who has spent the most in Serie A but seemingly within their means. Their neighbours and current Italian champions, Inter are struggling to stay afloat as are Barcelona. So if it is true that PSG is infringing the rules, how can they get away with it? Teams with endless financial powers like that going unchecked upsets me. Italian and Spanish football was the best and the place to be for the biggest names in the world of football in the 1990s-2010s. They were breaking the bank signing players which led to financial mismanagement and clubs going bankrupt so they can’t have many gripes for complaints against the English clubs’ spending. All they got to do is to improve their product and work innovatively in terms of signing players and especially developing their own players.

This season has not started yet but there is a dread that has enveloped me. There has been little competition and variety in the big European leagues in terms of winners. There was some freshness last season when Inter, Atletico Madrid and Lille won Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1 respectively but would they remain champions this season or be dethroned by the familiar teams? Lille in particular has the odds stacked against them with PSG getting exponentially stronger with the addition of one of the best players ever, Lionel Messi. Off-field struggles might derail Inter’s chances of retaining the Scudetto while Atletico is in a good place to retain the La Liga as Real Madrid and Barcelona have not strengthened their respective squads by much. The best league in the world now appears to have some competition but like all other recent seasons, there is every chance a team will run away with it and that team could very well be Manchester City again. Where is the fun in that? We shall see about this when the season unfolds in all the major leagues and European club competitions. You do suspect that in Europe, teams will be gunning for Manchester City and PSG in particular.

Finally, Lionel Messi. One of the best players of all time became available on a free transfer. You would think there would be a mad scramble among clubs for his signature but it appeared to be a non-contest. Messi, what challenge is there in going to Ligue 1 to join a team that has a star-studded squad and have dominated the league more often than not? The only real challenge is in helping the team win the elusive Champions League title, that’s all. It’s similar to Cristiano Ronaldo joining Juventus. He was signed not to help Juventus win the Scudetto because they were already doing that before he joined and he continued that trend except last season. He was signed to help them win the Champions League and has failed so far. If either of them wanted a real football challenge, they could join a sleeping giant and bring it back to its glory years. I am sure they would have enough power to dictate those terms to their agents. I am sure they are not short on finances that they needed a move to a club that could help sustain them financially.

Modern football……