Instead Of Genuine Passion, Profits Are Dominating The Game
The Game Has Become Corrupted By Money
For a long time now, I’ve felt disappointed and somewhat disgusted at the obscenely expensive price tags and wages for football (soccer) players in top-flight leagues.
Essentially, I feel that given the myriad of problems plaguing society as well as the dire socioeconomic conditions endured by the average citizens, such insane amounts of money should definitely be spent instead towards such pressing issues.
Great Opportunities To Reap Massive Profits
At the heart of it, this comes down to the capitalist system that we’re living in, whereby the football clubs and leagues are eagerly capitalizing on opportunities to reap maximum profits from the game of football itself, as well as the players, especially the highly ranked ones.
One main reason why the prices and wages of these players are so high is inflation. This in turn is due to several factors, including:
The wealthy clubs and their owners that are pursuing such players and who can afford to pay such high transfer fees.
The high demand for certain players due to their quality and impact on the field.
The media companies that are paying these football leagues and clubs huge sums of money for the rights to broadcast matches on television and other forms of media.
Merchandise sales
The growing viewership in Asian countries
These factors influence clubs to jack up the transfer fees of their highly sought-after players in order to reap even greater profits.
Are Such Insane Levels Of Wages Warranted?
Now, in the past, I’ve been a more ardent football fan. At this point in time, I’d say I’m more of a casual fan, whereby my viewership of matches has decreased, compared to before.
That being said, I generally still do enjoy the game, and I do feel that players in the higher, more professional leagues, especially the world-class ones, do deserve to be paid a fair amount of wages.
But most definitely not at the levels that we’re seeing currently.
Looking at the top 100 most expensive football transfers (of players between clubs) of all time, the prices range from about 55 million to over 220 million Euros. This is currently for the period between 2001–2023.
And in terms of weekly wages, those of the highest-paid footballers in the world in 2024 range from 400,000 pounds to 3.4 million pounds.
A Profit-Driven, Positive Feedback Mechanism
If these football leagues and clubs are able to generate such high profits through sales, then ideally they should act responsibly and direct a portion of their high profits towards more impactful, pro-people causes and programs.
Instead, what we’re seeing is that these football leagues and clubs are continuously capitalizing on opportunities to reap maximum profits from the players, especially the highly-ranked ones.
And so, this positive-feedback mechanism keeps on going, all the while generating increasingly obscene levels of price tags and wages for these football stars.
There’s Less Passion And More Focus On Money
Apart from the fact that such financial resources should be spent towards society’s needs, this engineering of the game in order to reap maximum profits is negatively affecting the actual game of football itself.
Insanely high transfer fees, wages, and profits have become too dominant in the world of football, particularly in the top-flight leagues, thus taking away from the actual game on the field itself.
The attention of football fans and the casual audience is drawn towards the insanely high levels of the price tags and wages of these players, and the buzz and controversy involving the transfer process of players between clubs.
As a result, I feel that less focus and energy is directed towards enjoying, being passionate about as well as appreciating the actual game of football itself.
Less Appreciation Of The Whole Team And Their Collective Efforts
Apart from that, a lot of the attention is directed towards those particularly high-priced, prestigious players and their performances, rather than the whole team.
This, in turn, diminishes the value and appreciation of that particular football club as a whole by the fans and the casual audience.
There Needs To Be A Serious Shift In Priorities
All in all, I strongly feel that the major football leagues and clubs around the world should stop simply jacking up the transfer fees and wages of players in their pursuit of greater profits.
The insane amounts of cash being thrown about in the dealings and transactions within the football world should instead be responsibly spent on much more pressing problems within society.
It’s high time that the attention and energy in the world of football is directed towards being genuinely passionate about and enjoying the actual game itself.
Copyright Raveen Jeyakumar, 2024. All rights reserved.
Originally published at http://reformthesystem0.wordpress.com.
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Interesting comments you shared here Raveen. I don't really remember the last time I sit and watched a football game, not because of my work or unlimited time, I always have time. Just I feel that, football is the second leg of politics.