An exceptionally talented winger, heading into his prime years, had the opportunity during the summer transfer window to move to one if the most culturally rich and successful football clubs in history.
The club in question have won four European Cups, 36 domestic league titles, 20 domestic cups, a UEFA Cup, a European Cup Winners’ Cup and a couple of Super Cups. They are playing in this season’s Champions LeagueThey reached the semi-finals three years ago. Their average attendance is over 50,000.
The player has been contracted to a club which last played at the top level in European competition in 1960. The most recent major trophy they won was 42 years ago. They have spent only nine of the past 40 seasons playing in their country’s top division and attract average home attendances of 30,000.
They currently play in the Premier League. So Adama TraoreThis is Wolverhampton Wanderers didn’t move to Ajax.
OK, there are a couple of extenuating circumstances in Traore’s case, given he’s free to move anywhere on a Bosman next summer, but the fact is the 26-year-old elected to stay on what could be Wolves’ bench for the season (he’s no longer a first-choice pick and has yet to start a league game in 2022-23) instead of turning out in Ajax’s first team, playing in massive Champions League games against LiverpoolNapoli and RangersAjax are the odds-on favorites to win the Eredivisie title.
The exposure the Premier League offers — or, far more to the point, the money it provides — is worth far more to players than winning trophies in other leagues. You could even get a chance to play in Champions League. Only six guaranteed games in European competition or 38 in what it’s now fashionable to call the real Super League? There is currently only one answer.
It’s great for English football, the Premier League and for fans who want to enjoy the best of the best in international football. What about the rest?
“There should also be a Brexit in football,” outspoken former general director at AC MilanAdriano Galliani, who is now with Monza, stated recently. “The Premier teams earn four times more than any team in the Italian Serie A.
“Monza gets €33million from television rights. Any team newly promoted in England takes €160million. How to stop this trend in the world economy?”
The Premier League’s gluttony has created a market that is distorted and it is only getting worse.
- The Premier League was home to eight of the 10 largest European spenders during the summer window, which included five non-Champions League clubs. Manchester United, Arsenal, West HamWolves Nottingham Forest
- The average transfer spend of a Premier League club this summer was £85million
- This season, the 12 Champions League clubs from Germany, Spain and Germany are represented Italy spent an average of £60million
- In total, the 20 Premier League clubs spent around £2billion on transfer and loan fees, while the 28 non-English Champions League clubs in this season’s competition spent £1.5billion
- The Premier League spent more that La LigaSerie A, Ligue 1 and Serie A combined
“You have to come here — you’re playing in a league that is the absolute best level, a different level to elsewhere,” Lucas Paqueta described how fellow Brazilian players urged him to move to West Ham from Lyon in a £51million move last month. “It’s the best league in the world and I don’t think anyone doubts it.”
Paqueta wasn’t the only high-quality player who would grace a top six club. Matheus NunesOne more is the case of Wolves (who Pep guardiola described as one of the top players in the world earlier this season).
Lucas Paqueta joined West Ham this summer from Lyon (Photo: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images).
Remo FreulerAn integral part of the success of this project was its dedication to women. AtalantaHe was third in Serie A for three consecutive seasons and he switched to Nottingham Forest for a newly promoted club.
“Those responsible have put together a team that can survive in the first difficult year after promotion,” Freuler said after signing, fully aware that he could be in a relegation scrap this season.
Players these days are not limited to gaining a foothold within the Premier League.
“Maxwel Cornet is a great example,” an agent with a number of Premier League clients told The Athletic. “He takes the plunge to go to BurnleyProbably not knowing where it was. wantingHe was there to make a living, but he moved on the basis of earning more money and getting into the league. He was probably on maybe £40,000 a week at Lyon, then may £50,000 at Burnley and now he’s gone to West Ham, moved up the league, playing in Europe and he could be on £80,000.
“If you shine at a lesser club, bigger clubs will try and take you.”
Premier League spending suffered a loss in the early stages due to the pandemic. But, with a modest television rebate, the league has been able to recover quickly and its spending levels are higher than ever.
That’s led to a continuation of an imbalance across Europe where being a Champions League club simply isn’t enough to attract top names anymore. Money talks and while the Champions League can be extremely lucrative if a club reaches the latter stages and earns towards £100million, just reaching the group stages will only earn £17million in prize money, plus some TV and coefficient money. Two years ago, Sheffield United earned £97.5million for finishing 20th in the Premier League.
It means that a club like Bayer Leverkusen, back in the Champions League this season, can’t factor much more than £20-£30 million from their exploits in the competition. And can’t say to players that they’ll be playing more than six Champions League games.
“We signed one player this year who said, ‘Yeah, I know I’m leaving a Champions League club but the Premier League is the Champions League every week’”, a staff member from a Premier League club’s recruitment team said. “That’s what the league is. When 12 of your matches in a season are against the big six and then you’ve got others like West Ham and LeicesterIt feels like Champions League level for every week, especially for those who reached the European semifinals last season.
“If there’s a top talent at a European club, who else can compete? There isn’t anyone else. Maybe Bayern Munich, Juventus, Dortmund, etc but you’re talking a handful of clubs if the fee is getting north of £30million.
“The reality is, when we’re speaking to foreign clubs about their players, in their words they would say there’s only one market – the Premier League.
“They’re waiting to sell their players for the highest figure possible. After the Premier League clubs have completed their bidding, the club can spend the money at a reasonable price to help players develop. The cycle then continues. That’s generally the way it’s trending.
“There’s jealousy from other leagues, they can’t compete. But when the window comes they’re also glad for that Premier League market to buy their players with a Premier League tax.”
Toni Kroos performed at a pop as Casemirofor receiving the Premier League cash during your recent move to Manchester United
“Thank God not all players look only at salary but also at winning many titles and to grow more,” Kroos said.
“TV money has been significantly higher in England for years and yet it hasn’t resulted in English teams winning everything.”
Matheus Nunes swapped the Champions League for Wolves (Photo: James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images)
Since 2010, ChelseaLiverpool and Liverpool have won the Champions League trophy twice. This record is nearly identical in the Europa LeagueThere were three Premier League winners in the same time frame (Chelsea twice, again and Manchester United), which means that 25% of the Champions League and Europa League winners are Premier League. Not exactly a reflection of the league’s massive financial dominance.
The Champions League final is now a regular fixture for English teams, with England hosting six of the 10 Champions League finalists.
An executive with Premier League experience told the story The Athletic: “It was a few years ago now that Jose Mourinho was saying teams outside the top six are buying top-six players. We’re seeing that more and more and that makes the league even more competitive and even more difficult to navigate.
“You’ve got Aston VillaDrawing with Manchester City, FulhamAnd EvertonLiverpool was recently held. Premier League clubs haven’t dominated Europe yet but it’s undoubtedly the highest quality league because that quality is spread far thicker than across Europe.
“It’s the strongest league in the world and only getting stronger.
“In terms of finances, Ligue 1, they can’t compete; it’s the same with Portugal; La Liga it’s just Real Madrid, BarcelonaMaybe Atletico Bundesliga, maybe, but they’ve only really got two teams so it’s not as attractive even though salaries are high and can compete on some transfer fees. Italy is able to compete on salaries but not fees. The Premier League is able to do more than any other league on both salary AND fee.
“Throw in the sporting plan of that club as well, the vision, the full houses, the global exposure and that’s how you get Nottingham Forest buying players that should be in the Champions League.
“Is it sustainable? Broadcasting rights are in a very strong place, global reach is huge, it doesn’t feel like football is becoming less popular, quite the opposite, there are packed houses every week. It’s almost as if people are more interested in the Premier League than they are away from it. That’s recognised in the number of players joining the Premier League rather than a Champions League club.
“So you’ve got Forest, Newcastle and Wolves spending huge money and it’s likely none of them will qualify for the Champions League, maybe not even Europe at all, but it’s sustainable to a point because of the money generated by broadcasting rights.”
Ten of the latest top 20 Deloitte Money League clubsWere from the Premier League (including Leicester, Wolves and Everton).
“Calling the Premier League a Super League is a justified moniker,” the executive added. “That’s the reality. Very top clubs in Europe can compete but you’re not talking many. It is difficult to get salaries in the Premier League.
“Take Newcastle for example, they’ve been really clever, gone to every player who’s a target and then basically set the personal terms, i.e. Their salary offer was very high. So then player X’s agent can say to clubs across Europe that he’s already spoken to Newcastle who’ve offered £100,000 a week. This instantly cuts out many Premier League clubs, let’s not forget European. So straight away they’re almost ringfencing the cluster of players they want to go for and making it difficult for other clubs to reach them. Newcastle immediately reduced the number of clubs in their market.
“So if you’re a top-six, top-eight Serie A club like Lazio, they’re having to really push on their history and their own story to try and compete for certain players. And then the reality is they have to sell their best players, it’s as simple as that, because the revenues just aren’t there for them.
“It’s about one market. There will be moves made to slow down the Premier League. Ligue 1, Serie A, La Liga, they’re all looking at the Premier League, the money generated and then comparing it to what they get, I’m certain there are moves afoot to try and figure out a way of slowing the juggernaut down and try to create some parity. But at the moment, things are only going one way.”
West Ham spending more on Juventus than West Ham? Real Madrid’s Wolves spend more than Real Madrid’s Wolves. Nottingham Forest spending more PSG?
With Premier League broadcasting revenues from home and overseas now reaching £10billion, expect more of the same.
(Top Photo: James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images)
