Overinflated Transfers ruining the game. Discuss.

legs11

!

So, it is getting pretty serious now, Even Liverpool are now struggling it seems to pay ridiculous fees for players.

I think its a absolute sham, the way football is going.

Players like glen Johnson, a good lad and by all accounts a good player but what 17million.??

It seems average players now are going for noting less than say 10-14million.

Absolute madness, I wonder how long will this sustain or what will be the consequences.?

Its well and good that Real can pay crazy money for Ronaldo, there's no doubt he is a class player and is probably worth well over 40million anyways, but the knock on effect is that 'average' players are now being flogged off for insane prices.

IMO Zidane was an absolute gem and worth every penny of his fee, but is Ronaldo better than him, I dont think so.

It seems now that Liverpool priced out of mega money signings, and Arsenal also probably if things continue there could be some interesting changes in the PL..

Pretty much any club outside of Man U, and Chelsea cannot afford 30million+ for a player it seems.

And even perter crouch would cost more than half of that which is crazienesssssss

SectionF

In general, I agree with the sentiment expressed. Being priced out of competition is the lot of many football clubs in these islands.

Neil3030

legs11 wrote: »

!

So, it is getting pretty serious now, Even Liverpool are now struggling it seems to pay ridiculous fees for players.

I think its a absolute sham, the way football is going....

S*** it's starting to affect Liverpool?! We better do something!! NOW!!!

A Dub in Glasgo

Transfer fees have been inflated since Sky started to pump the money into the EPL.

Max Power1

Anyone heard of supply and demand?

If a club is willing to pay 80 million for Ronaldo and a club is willing to sell at that price then whats the problem?

therecklessone

Neil3030 wrote: »

S*** it's starting to affect Liverpool?! We better do something!! NOW!!!

Anyone who has followed legs11's contributions to the forum will know that is not the point of his OP.

PHB

I do think that transfer fees should be linked to a percentage of income/turnover. I think having money people come in and just utterly mess up the market is bad for the game in the long run.

rednik

Transfer fees have been inflated for a long time. Think back to the late eighties when AC Milan were buying all around including 13 million sterling for Lentini which was the world record at the time. 1992 I think that was. Most good foreign players played in Serie A then. The annoying thing is when a selling club realises the size of the club buying and other clubs interested will then inflate the price knowing that more than likely one of the buying clubs will more than likely match that valuation. Think back to january when City supposedly made a bid of 100 million for Kaka.At least Kaka copped on and thought about going there and said no. But Milan were only to glad to sell him when they were once the buying club. What Madrid have done is just crazy.

legs11

therecklessone wrote: »

Anyone who has followed legs11's contributions to the forum will know that is not the point of his OP.

You can say what you like about me, but the truth now is that average players are going for extraordinary prices

The knock on effect could be evident in a few years, its pretty obvious that any club outside of the two of Man U and Chelsea cant afford riberys, and the like.

If Glen Johnson costs almost 20million that's not good.......

I'm not having a dig at Pool here as its nice to see Benitez come clean for once and admit that transfers have gone potty rather than his usual bs...:rolleyes:

HalloweenJack

I agree with the idea that transfer prices are ridiculous but as long as clubs are willing to pay it then what can you do.

That's why I'm kinda happy that a club like Bray aren't in a big money league where the money will eventually dry up. I'd be afraid we'd get in over our heads in debt and put the club's future at risk.

Also, I have to point this out:

legs11 wrote: »

Players like glen Johnson, a good lad and by all accounts a good player but what 17million.??

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2007/jan/19/newsstory.sport3

Hardly, a "good" lad.

~Rebel~

Its probably worth pointing out that the game is still pretty much as its always been, its just the tippy top tier, the elite section which is experiencing the brunt of this.

Headshot

Think fifa need to step in here and stop this crazy money

somthing like the club is only allowed to spend a percentage of it's profit
(that's probably a bad idea )

somthing has to be done

also stuff like blaming the english clubs for over spending and then having the cheek to say madrid are doing nothing wrong with the 80m

hypocrisy like that has to stop and blatter needs to been shown the door

and more ex football players need to go into fifa,yes platini is another anti english but at least he speaks out against the over spending

Mr.Nice Guy

The market is bonkers at this stage and I think deep down everyone knows it. A lot of notable people in football have made that point over the last number of months. Blatter's not going to open his hypocritical mouth about it though unless an English club is involved.

I reckon it will take something dramatic, such as the snapping of Ronaldo or Kaka's cruciate, before clubs like Real Madrid realise the folly of forking out such massive amounts of money on footballers whose bodies can sometimes break down.

Headshot

one thing will stop it if they stop the debt in clubs

yes ill hurt all the big teams but that's sure to stop it
but it wont be happening

clubs in the Bundesliga are debt free arent they?

and still able to attract great players

Neil3030

Anyone who has followed legs11's contributions to the forum will know that is not the point of his OP.

I know, I was just poking fun.

The truth is, while there remains an asymmetry of wealth there'll always be clubs willing to throw cash at finished products rather than develop their own players inhouse, and there'll always be clubs willing to sell.

If every club told the Cities and Madrids to p*** off they'd be forced to rethink their strategies, but that simply will not happen.

Chucky the tree

Headshot wrote: »

Think fifa need to step in here and stop this crazy money

somthing like the club is only allowed to spend a percentage of it's profit
(that's probably a bad idea )

somthing has to be done

also stuff like blaming the english clubs for over spending and then having the cheek to say madrid are doing nothing wrong with the 80m

hypocrisy like that has to stop and blatter needs to been shown the door

and more ex football players need to go into fifa,yes platini is another anti english but at least he speaks out against the over spending

Indeed. It's brilliant the way it's only now Man united fans are complaining about how transfer fees are too way when for years it was Man united who were the team out-bidding every other team apart from Real.

Headshot

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Indeed. It's brilliant the way it's only now Man united fans are complaining about how transfer fees are too way when for years it was Man united who were the team out-bidding every other team apart from Real.

you knocked me back with that post

who did we out bid and for what players

btw mate I think your thinking of chelsea

Mac Masters

I don't know what people are finding so "ridiculous", if you've ever heard of basketball, baseball or american football? Players have been going for these prices for years now! If anything footballers were cheap in comparison and considering football is the biggest sport in the world, what were you expecting?

Mr.Nice Guy

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Indeed. It's brilliant the way it's only now Man united fans are complaining about how transfer fees are too way when for years it was Man united who were the team out-bidding every other team apart from Real.

Top 10 Overall Transfers

1. Cristiano Ronaldo: Manchester United to Real Madrid - £80m (2009)
2. Kaka: AC Milan to Real Madrid - £56m (2009)
3. Zinedine Zidane: Juventus to Real Madrid - £45.62m (2001)
4. Luis Figo: Barcelona to Real Madrid - £37m (2000)
5. Hernan Crespo: Parma to Lazio - £35.5m (2000)
6. Gianluigi Buffon: Parma to Juventus - £32.6m (2001)
7. Robinho: Real Madrid to Manchester City - £32.5m (2008)
8. Christian Vieri: Lazio to Inter - £32m (1999)
9. Dimitar Berbatov: Tottenham to Manchester United - £30.75m (2008)
10. Andriy Shevchenko: AC Milan to Chelsea - £30m (2006)

Out-bidding every other team apart from Real you say?

SectionF

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Its probably worth pointing out that the game is still pretty much as its always been, its just the tippy top tier, the elite section which is experiencing the brunt of this.

You think it doesn't affect football from top to bottom?

rossie1977

meh, i assume the OP is a man utd fan, didn't see much complaining when you guys were breaking the world record transfer fee for a defender, or the world record transfer fee for a teenager not that many moons ago

why is 17m so high for johnson?? you guys paid 17m-18m each for nani and anderson who barely were out of nappies at the time

ecoli

rossie1977 wrote: »

meh, i assume the OP is a man utd fan, didn't see much complaining when you guys were breaking the world record transfer fee for a defender, or the world record transfer fee for a teenager not that many moons ago

why is 17m so high for johnson?? you guys paid 17m-18m each for nani and anderson who barely were out of nappies at the time

Exactly this is not a new thing i mean when it comes to big teams buying players they always overcharge look at Carrick 18 mil? smaller clubs dont want to lose there best players but if they have to they make sure it for way more than the player worth. Shaun Wright Phillips another one 21mil to Chelsea yet 8.5mil back despite being good player during his time there

Boggles

rossie1977 wrote: »

meh, i assume the OP is a man utd fan, didn't see much complaining when you guys were breaking the world record transfer fee for a defender, or the world record transfer fee for a teenager not that many moons ago

There was plenty fans complaining.

rossie1977 wrote: »

you guys paid 17m-18m each for nani and anderson who barely were out of nappies at the time

No they didn't.

Headshot

rossie1977 wrote: »

meh, i assume the OP is a man utd fan, didn't see much complaining when you guys were breaking the world record transfer fee for a defender, or the world record transfer fee for a teenager not that many moons ago

why is 17m so high for johnson?? you guys paid 17m-18m each for nani and anderson who barely were out of nappies at the time

lol

that's funny you think legs is a utd fan

or are you trying to get one over on utd fans by using legs, not so sure

Chucky the tree

Headshot wrote: »

you knocked me back with that post

who did we out bid and for what players

btw mate I think your thinking of chelsea

You do realise football existed before Roman bought chelsea yea? How many times have United broken the british transfer record? robson, Pallister, Keane, Cole, Ruud, Veron, ferdiand. It's only now since other teams can out bid United that I hear United fans giving out about transfer fees being paid. I never heard them say anything in the early 2000s about wanting FIFA to set in to stop clubs spending too much money on one player, I wonder why?

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Top 10 Overall Transfers

1. Cristiano Ronaldo: Manchester United to Real Madrid - £80m (2009)
2. Kaka: AC Milan to Real Madrid - £56m (2009)
3. Zinedine Zidane: Juventus to Real Madrid - £45.62m (2001)
4. Luis Figo: Barcelona to Real Madrid - £37m (2000)
5. Hernan Crespo: Parma to Lazio - £35.5m (2000)
6. Gianluigi Buffon: Parma to Juventus - £32.6m (2001)
7. Robinho: Real Madrid to Manchester City - £32.5m (2008)
8. Christian Vieri: Lazio to Inter - £32m (1999)
9. Dimitar Berbatov: Tottenham to Manchester United - £30.75m (2008)
10. Andriy Shevchenko: AC Milan to Chelsea - £30m (2006)

Out-bidding every other team apart from Real you say?

Yea, as I said just because now a days you cant do it the toys come out of the pram. Also If you include the top 20 transfer United feature 4 times. As I said take out real Madrid and United dominate.

dfx-

Has the Pope called any transfer fees offensive yet? If not, Lentini still wins :pac:

Mr.Nice Guy

Chucky the tree wrote: »

You do realise football existed before Roman bought chelsea yea? How many times have United broken the british transfer record? robson, Pallister, Keane, Cole, Ruud, Veron, ferdiand. It's only now since other teams can out bid United that I hear United fans giving out about transfer fees being paid.

United, the richest club in Britain at the time, actually broke the British transfer record on a few occasions. What are the odds?!

Chucky the tree wrote:

I never heard them say anything in the early 2000s about wanting FIFA to set in to stop clubs spending too much money on one player, I wonder why.

Um, you do realise it's not just United fans criticising the way things are going right? Benitez did so today, Wenger a few weeks back, likewise Platini, even Real's own Metzelder queried the money being thrown about. Real have been buying players for as much as football clubs cost. Mike Ashley is willing to sell Newcastle for £100m. For the price Real paid for Ronaldo and Kaka, they could have bought Newcastle and had enough left over to buy a player for £36m. This is on another level entirely to what other clubs in the game have been doing.

Chucky the Tree wrote:

Yea, as I said just because now a days you cant do it the toys come out of the pram. Also If you include the top 20 transfer United feature 4 times. As I said take out real Madrid and United dominate.

Again, is it only United fans questioning where things are headed? No. You seem to have one massive chip on your shoulder. Also in the list provided, Real, Juve, Lazio, Inter and Man City have all paid higher amounts for players than United. Bearing in mind the wealth United have generated over the years and their position on the list of the world's richest clubs, they have not been as flash with the cash as they might have been. Ah but of course why let all that get in the way of a good rant...

legs11

rossie1977 wrote: »

meh, i assume the OP is a man utd fan, didn't see much complaining when you guys were breaking the world record transfer fee for a defender, or the world record transfer fee for a teenager not that many moons ago

why is 17m so high for johnson?? you guys paid 17m-18m each for nani and anderson who barely were out of nappies at the time

Me support united ?

:rolleyes:
*snigger

The same fans who smiled at Gerrard and took pics of him when he f***ed them over at old trafford...??!

http://soccerzlife.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/gerrard-kisses-camera.jpg

~Rebel~

SectionF wrote: »

You think it doesn't affect football from top to bottom?

generally money rolls downhill, when the massive teams pay insane money, smaller clubs usually get to bring in more money on any sales they make, while usually sales of clubs on the same level to each other stay around the same level.

This year we'll see plenty of 1 to 10million pound moves for premiership players, then theres a bit of a gulf up to the top tier.

It does affect the other levels, but as i said, the brunt of bad effects are on the top tier, a lot of the lesser tiers see less extreme effects, and even some positive effects.

Mac Masters

rossie1977 wrote: »

why is 17m so high for johnson?? you guys paid 17m-18m each for nani and anderson who barely were out of nappies at the time

All you have to say to United fans is £28 million for Veron! Biggest waste of money ever!:D Even bigger waste than Shevchenko!

super_furry

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Top 10 Overall Transfers

1. Cristiano Ronaldo: Manchester United to Real Madrid - £80m (2009)
2. Kaka: AC Milan to Real Madrid - £56m (2009)
3. Zinedine Zidane: Juventus to Real Madrid - £45.62m (2001)
4. Luis Figo: Barcelona to Real Madrid - £37m (2000)
5. Hernan Crespo: Parma to Lazio - £35.5m (2000)
6. Gianluigi Buffon: Parma to Juventus - £32.6m (2001)
7. Robinho: Real Madrid to Manchester City - £32.5m (2008)
8. Christian Vieri: Lazio to Inter - £32m (1999)
9. Dimitar Berbatov: Tottenham to Manchester United - £30.75m (2008)
10. Andriy Shevchenko: AC Milan to Chelsea - £30m (2006)

Out-bidding every other team apart from Real you say?

Not sure that list is accurate. Rio Ferdinand was £33million.

Glico Man

The prices for players have been rising for years and it seems to have gone in phases.

First it seemed to be Serie A splashing the cash which eventually led to some clubs being crippled by debt, Lazio for example after spending £18M for Veron, £19M on Vieri, £35M on Crespo, £22M on Claudio Lopez, £29M on Mendieta. Juventus signing Buffon for £34M.


Then it was the turn of Spain and Real, huge fees paid for players like Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo, Beckham. And Barça signing the likes of Ronaldinho for £20M+


In between was the Premier League with players like Ferdinand comanding huge fees during transfers to and from Leeds, Van Nistelrooy for £18M-£20M, Reyes to Arsenal for £17M, Rooney to United for £28M-£30M


Then Chelsea began getting involved after the Russian takeover, spending big money on players like Mutu, Carvalho, Bosingwa, Shevchenko, Drogba, Essien.


Then City came along and bought Robinho for £32.5M and almost signed Kaka for more than £90M.


Then Real came back to the fore with astronomical spending on Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema and to an extent Raul Albiol, with more to come apparently.

The spending this transfer window has made prices ridiculous, crazy even.

I came across this site

http://labs.timesonline.co.uk/blog/2009/03/02/top-50-most-expensive-footballers-adjusted-for-inflation/

which i found very interesting. It shows the total cost of players over their careers and the prices have been adjusted for the inflation rates.

LuckyLloyd

SectionF wrote: »

In general, I agree with the sentiment expressed. Being priced out of competition is the lot of many football clubs in these islands.

It's a free market. The prices may seem ridiculous, but it's all relative. The prices of the players are a function of the revenue generated by the top leagues and the supply and demand equilibrium between clubs wanting truly great players and their availability.

Ekels

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/jul/07/manchester-city-manchester-united-paul-wilson

Smashing article.

Mr. Presentable

aaronh007 wrote: »

I came across this site

http://labs.timesonline.co.uk/blog/2009/03/02/top-50-most-expensive-footballers-adjusted-for-inflation/

which i found very interesting. It shows the total cost of players over their careers and the prices have been adjusted for the inflation rates.

But it's rubbish. I note Christian Vieri according to that has had one transfer :eek:

Chucky the tree

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

United, the richest club in Britain at the time, actually broke the British transfer record on a few occasions. What are the odds?!

And Spain the richest club in Spain and the world are splashing the cash, what are the odds?! And why is it now such a big deal?

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Um, you do realise it's not just United fans criticising the way things are going right? Benitez did so today, Wenger a few weeks back, likewise Platini, even Real's own Metzelder queried the money being thrown about. Real have been buying players for as much as football clubs cost. Mike Ashley is willing to sell Newcastle for £100m. For the price Real paid for Ronaldo and Kaka, they could have bought Newcastle and had enough left over to buy a player for £36m. This is on another level entirely to what other clubs in the game have been doing.

I know it's not just united fans criticising, However most fans of other clubs haven't had there time be the leaders in transfers for years. As I said, why didn't I see thread from United fans in the early 2000s?

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Again, is it only United fans questioning where things are headed? No. You seem to have one massive chip on your shoulder. Also in the list provided, Real, Juve, Lazio, Inter and Man City have all paid higher amounts for players than United. Bearing in mind the wealth United have generated over the years and their position on the list of the world's richest clubs, they have not been as flash with the cash as they might have been. Ah but of course why let all that get in the way of a good rant...

If a city or chelse fan was to start complaining I'd be on them as well. It takes two parties to complete a transfer. If clubs like United, Arsenal, Liverpool etc etc don't want clubs spending €80m euro on a player then they shouldn't sell them at that price. Why didn't United turn around and just tell Real they either weren't selling or they'd accept a bid of €35m for ronaldo?

Fromvert

Chucky the tree wrote: »

And Spain the richest club in Spain and the world are splashing the cash, what are the odds?! And why is it now such a big deal?





I know it's not just united fans criticising, However most fans of other clubs haven't had there time be the leaders in transfers for years. As I said, why didn't I see thread from United fans in the early 2000s?




If a city or chelse fan was to start complaining I'd be on them as well. It takes two parties to complete a transfer. If clubs like United, Arsenal, Liverpool etc etc don't want clubs spending €80m euro on a player then they shouldn't sell them at that price. Why didn't United turn around and just tell Real they either weren't selling or they'd accept a bid of €35m for ronaldo?

Because that would be stupid.

Glico Man

nipplenuts wrote: »

But it's rubbish. I note Christian Vieri according to that has had one transfer :eek:

I only said it was interesting. I didn't say it was the bees knees. I found it interesting because it shows the total cost of players over their career. Ronaldo for example, has amassed a figure of £92.5 million after only 2 transfers.

Granted some transfers are missing but blame soccerbase.com for missing them out. Vieri, as you stated has had more than one move, his total cost as far as I can work out is £62 million+ Hope that helps you

K4t

There should certainly be a cap on the overall amount a club can spend during the summer and christmas transfer windows. Frankly, Real are taking the piss at the moment. I mean, where the fck is the money coming from. Do they even have revenue commissioners and the like in Spain these days?

Glico Man

K4t wrote: »

There should certainly be a cap on the overall amount a club can spend during the summer and christmas transfer windows. Frankly, Real are taking the piss at the moment. I mean, where the fck is the money coming from. Do they even have revenue commissioners and the like in Spain these days?

Most of their money comes from tv revenue and ticket and merchandise sales.

Remember, the tv deal in Spain works differently over there with the top 3/4 teams receiving a hell of a lot more than the other sides and the premier leagues money deal pales in comparison.

For example while the top 4 in england receive approx £40 million, Real Madrid and Barçelona would receive upwards of £300 million for the tv deal.

Ridiculous but true.

Real Madrid sold its TV broadcast rights to a production company for $1.41 billion over seven years.

Barçelona announced a similar five-year agreement of its TV rights with Mediapro for $1.28 billion.

http://www.fbtz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64634

Paparazzo

How come Real seem to have this money but Barca don't? Because Real are given massive "loans" from the Spanish banks. Also dodgy property deals. They're like a state run club. If Real were a politian, they would be Charlie Haughey

Mr.Nice Guy

super_furry wrote:

Not sure that list is accurate. Rio Ferdinand was £33million.

Wasn't it £30m?

Chucky the tree wrote: »

And Spain the richest club in Spain and the world are splashing the cash, what are the odds?! And why is it now such a big deal?

There's quite a difference between United forking out say £3.75m on Roy Keane and Real forking out £80m on Cristiano Ronaldo. It's such a big deal because of the implications it could have on the game and the way Real are able to generate their funds.

Chucky the tree wrote:

I know it's not just united fans criticising, However most fans of other clubs haven't had there time be the leaders in transfers for years. As I said, why didn't I see thread from United fans in the early 2000s?

In the early 2000s United weren't spending £56m and £80m respectively on two players. If they had been I am certain you would have seen plenty of threads from United fans.

Chucky the tree wrote:

If a city or chelse fan was to start complaining I'd be on them as well. It takes two parties to complete a transfer. If clubs like United, Arsenal, Liverpool etc etc don't want clubs spending €80m euro on a player then they shouldn't sell them at that price. Why didn't United turn around and just tell Real they either weren't selling or they'd accept a bid of €35m for ronaldo?

Well if Real want to throw insane money at United it would be foolish of United not to take it. The issue though is whether or not the game needs this type of spending. I believe it can't be good, especially in this climate, and think FIFA should act before the game spirals out of control.

Dr Bolouswki

hasn't this argument happened since sunderland spent big in the 1950's?

Save our souls - money is ruining the game blah blah

let's change society. Revolution now. Off the pig. Smash the system.

Unearthly

Mac Masters wrote: »

All you have to say to United fans is £28 million for Veron! Biggest waste of money ever!:D Even bigger waste than Shevchenko!

Nonsense

Veron atleast contributed some good things in 2 seasons, and man utd recouped 15 million(his spell at Chelsea was probably a bigger flop)

Chelsea don't look like getting much for Sheva at all.

dannydiamond

Dr Bolouswki wrote: »

hasn't this argument happened since sunderland spent big in the 1950's?

Lol, I don't think it's quite the same to be fair, btw just how old are you?

legs11

Paparazzo wrote: »

How come Real seem to have this money but Barca don't? Because Real are given massive "loans" from the Spanish banks. Also dodgy property deals. They're like a state run club. If Real were a politian, they would be Charlie Haughey

haha

thats absolutely correct sir.

ciaran76

Transfers will always rise and rise unless some cap is put on it or some restrictions based on the club income.

Every few seasons some mega rich club go and splash the cash and to be honest it shouldnt surprise us anymore. Not saying its right but its a trend that has been set for years.

The same conversation will be held every season till I die unless some rules are changed.

So are over inflated prices ruining the game? I don't know to be honest as I have never seen a season go by when it hasn't happened so dont know what would happen if all this stopped.

We can speculate what may happen but we all know the big clubs have a lot of power in UEFA etc and caps on transfers wont happen for a long time.

With UEFA been so strange when English clubs spend alot of money they become critical but when a Spainish team does it they tell the world its a joy and shows how healthy football is.

So if UEFA think its ruining the game if its English clubs but ok if from elsewhere then I am not sure we will see a stop to what is happening for a very long time.

Mr. Presentable

ciaran76 wrote: »

With UEFA been so strange when English clubs spend alot of money they become critical but when a Spainish team does it they tell the world its a joy and shows how healthy football is.

So if UEFA think its ruining the game if its English clubs but ok if from elsewhere then I am not sure we will see a stop to what is happening for a very long time.

The above is simply untrue - the same people who criticised the spending of English clubs have criticised Madrid also.

Maybe you are English, I don't know. But I'll wager you are not, so why the xenophobia on their behalf?

Headshot

nipplenuts wrote: »

The above is simply untrue - the same people who criticised the spending of English clubs have criticised Madrid also.

Maybe you are English, I don't know. But I'll wager you are not, so why the xenophobia on their behalf?

What people ?

Benedict XVI

Mac Masters wrote: »

I don't know what people are finding so "ridiculous", if you've ever heard of basketball, baseball or american football? Players have been going for these prices for years now! If anything footballers were cheap in comparison and considering football is the biggest sport in the world, what were you expecting?

The setup in America is different.

In America players are traded for other players rather than bought and sold for cash.

In most cases the team the player is traded to takes over the contract and pays the player until their contract is up, when they then become a free agent and can negotiate a new contract with whoever is interested.

That’s when the money gets out of hand for the big players.

Paparazzo

nipplenuts wrote: »

The above is simply untrue - the same people who criticised the spending of English clubs have criticised Madrid also.

Maybe you are English, I don't know. But I'll wager you are not, so why the xenophobia on their behalf?

As far as I know, Sepp Blatter has stated that the English Premier League has too much foreign investment, and all the fans and newspapers have jumped on that to say he's anti english.
Platini has spoken out plenty of times about Madrids spending