- Optimism to succeed: the way forward for Arsenal and its supporters
- What can we tell from the first round of matches?
By Tony Attwood
We already knew that the transfer spending this summer was going to be an all-time record. This window is already showing a spend of two and a half billion euros and could well creep up to three billion, and if not it will be very close. The percentage increase was currently over six per cent – and then I get up to the news that as the Guardian says, “Tottenham stunned as Arsenal swoop in to agree £67.5m Eberechi Eze deal”
So overall, unless something very strange happens, the transfer spending this summer is likely to be ten per cent up on a year ago. And all this was achieved without Chelsea going on one of their crazed “buy everyone even if we don’t need them” extravaganzas.
And this will not only be a record for the Premier League but also a record for all football leagues. The only problem is that most of the clubs don’t have the money to spend; they are going further and further into debt. Indeed, Arsenal’s net transfer debt this summer looks like being huge – which raises the question, how is it ever going to be paid for under FFP rules?
Now of course, in the UK we are used to having debt because around seven in ten of the home sales that take place in the country involve the purchaser borrowing money via a mortgage, so this all seems natural. And the fact that the scale of the money involved is just so far beyond anything us mere mortals know about, makes it all unimaginable.
But there is a difference, because the mortgage covers part of the value of the house, and house prices invariably go up. However, footballers are different, for with them the value of the player goes down until the player reaches the age of around 35. House prices generally rise.
Serie A’s spending is also rising across multiple teams with clubs such as Como and Atalanta spending in big amounts. The same is true in Germany, with sales and purchases going up and up – and individual players costing more and more. But there’s the problem; not every sale will work out to the buying club’s benefit.
Now of course, part of the driving force is the Saudi Pro League, while Championship clubs in England are outspending many of the top leagues in Europe – although Spain is different for the two big Madrid teams have now pulled away from Barcelona whose long-term financial issues are such that I can’t see any way out for them – unless a Saudi prince buys them out and pays the debts.
But this can’t go on, unless the Manchester City model of finance wins through in its eternal legal case and then encourages the oil owners in Saudi Arabia to buy up more clubs and force up the transfer fees so high that non-Saudi clubs simply cannot compete.
That then takes us back to the point made several times before – if this continues to get out of control and the ManC issue is not properly resolved, then the only way forard is for the rest of the Premier League to resign (as they did once before from Football League Division 1) and set up a new league with strict financial rules, which would outlaw the ManC way of doing things.
We shall see of course, but for now, the current situation cannot possibly be sustainable even though I am as excited as anyone by the newspaper headline “Tottenham stunned as Arsenal swoop in to agree £67.5m Eberechi Eze deal.”
If all this is real and not some newspapery mistake, then all I can say is “Nice one Arsenal.”