As an avid football fan, I’m as excited as the next person about the new football season getting under way.  However, seeing the millions and millions of £’s being splashed around for players and the non-existent transfer activity of my cash stricken club, I find myself asking the question ‘Is our Beautiful Game loosing its beauty?’ Is it becoming all about money? It appears that the wealth of certain clubs gives them a disproportionate competitive advantage when it comes to transfer fees and players wages.

If I’m honest, I struggle to see how spending £50m or £80m on one player can really be justified. Especially when you’ve got smaller clubs scratching around to find the money to pay their players each month.  Conversely if they are the best players in the world and they help you win the Premiership of Champions League, does it become value for money?

Then there is the debate about player’s wages with some players reportedly earning £200,000 a week! It sounds ludicrous and perhaps immoral, but if you compare that to the best F1 drivers in the world or the best Hollywood actors/actresses in the world it doesn’t seem too extravagant.
My concern is that disparity between the worlds elite clubs and everyone else will continue to grow alarmingly wider. 

I was intrigued to read up on FIFA’s financial fair play Regulations.  The aim of these regulations is to curb the excessive spending and inflated transfer fees and wages that are endangering the ‘beautiful game’. They have been brought in to protect clubs long-term health, which surely must be a good thing, but is the damage already done?

Let me know your thoughts on this!

Mark Thompson

Kaleidophone