The transfer market will reach a point when it is ‘inevitable’ that a Premier League club will pay £100m for a player, according to league chief executive Richard Scudamore. He said that a £100m market in today’s market would be ‘ridiculous’. But he went on, ‘Can I see it happening in the future? It is inevitable that one day it will happen.’
The transfer market will reach a point when it is ‘inevitable’ that a Premier League club will pay £100m for a player, according to league chief executive Richard Scudamore. He said that a £100m market in today’s market would be ‘ridiculous’. But he went on, ‘Can I see it happening in the future? It is inevitable that one day it will happen.’
He brushed off any idea that the spending habits of clubs were irresponsible. ‘Of course we encourage it,’ he said. ‘I don’t know how we get out of the [stalled] economy if everybody just stops spending money … Let’s be honest, if this was any other industry where a Russian was bringing in £100m that got recycled. we’d be going “This is good investment”. Inward investment generally is encouraged.’
In an editorial today, the Financial Times commented, ‘Some have suggested that footballers’ wages and fees are as offensive as bankers’ pay deals. This newspaper disagrees. Footballers contribute more than bankers to the sum of human happiness and entertainment. And despite the crazy finances of the Premier League, clubs are at least the product of a free – if rarefied – market in which entities are able to fail.’
I’m not sure about that last point as collapses of clubs are unusual, although the situation of Plymouth Argyle is looking increasingly perilous.