UEFA boss says a universal salary cap could save football: Do Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, et al agree?
by offsidetrap on October 9th, 2008
| 418 words |
The news coming out about the Premier League’s debt has been bad; no actually it’s been really, REALLY bad. England’s clubs could be more than £3 billion in debt, and from the looks of things, it doesn’t appear that it will get better anytime soon. UEFA president Michel Platini, on the other hand, believes that within this dark cloud could be a silver lining. For all the greed going on in football, Platini believes that the best way to make the biggest hit on the issue is to institute a salary cap for every team.
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UEFA president Michel Platini believes a salary cap needs to be introduced into football for the good of the game.
The topic of football finances has been debated in recent days with Football Association chairman Lord Triesman claiming English clubs currently owe an estimated £3billion in debt and that a salary cap could help the problem.
Platini has added his voice to the debate and believes a salary cap is a necessity to safeguard the game.
However, the Frenchman insists a maximum level on wages will not happen for some time.
“We have to speak about the number of contracts in the clubs, we can speak about salary but I am not an expert, I am an expert of football of the game,” Platini told Sky Sports News.
“The rest we have to learn. We have to go slowly and to look at what we can do, but it is necessary for the good of football.” (ESPNSoccernet)
Platini has had some crazy ideas over the years, but this one actually makes a lot of sense. Like most major American sports franchises, a salary cap is the best way to keep teams honest during the season. It forces a club to really understand their finances, while keeping the lust for money out of the game. Going over the cap institutes a massive penalty that would surely scare even the biggest club from crossing the system. Plus, it would force players to understand that the money isn’t limitless.
If anything, a cap would allow the playing field to even to the point where you might finally see mid-level clubs getting a shot at the title. And for most of us, the chance to see a new champion crowned could be enough to finally bring some of the fans back.
What do you think? Would you be in favour of a salary cap in football?
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Tagged Under: arsenal fc, Chelsea FC, liverpool fc, Tottenham FC, UEFA
YNWA - October 9th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Totally agree!!!!!!……….most people do not earn in a lifetime…..what a top player earns in a week………SCANDALOUS…..it should have happened years go !!!!!!
Emkay - October 9th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
This is something that I have been on about for a couple of years. Funny how it takes the ‘experts’ so long to get around to it! The only drawback is illegal payments or ‘items’ given ‘in kind’. This should appeal to the crooks in football which probably accounts for the majority. Oh well something must happen - SOON!
Emkay - October 9th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
The other thing is a cap on the actual transfer fee, say £5 million!
Trevor - October 9th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
All i can say is that Michel Platini is typicaly french!!!
we all remember the crapp when joining the EU. Germany and France were well up for all these rules! Then the first countries to break them when it didnt suit them was!! Erm Germany and France!
And this stupid governments sticks by them!
JimB - October 9th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
The news about the Premier League’s debt isn’t as bad as all that, really. Look at it more closely:
Liverpool and Man Utd are only “in debt” because their American owners bought them with borrowed money (so not really in debt at all). The acutal business model for both clubs is incredibly healthy - especially Man Utd.
Arsenal are only in debt because they have just built a new stadium. And because of the massively increased revenue streams from that stadium, they can easily afford to service and pay off their debt.
Chelsea are only technically in debt because they have been bankrolled by Roman Abramovich. Since there is no indication that he intends to abandon Chelsea any time in the near future, there is no reason for any concern on their part. Even if he did decide to call it a day at Chelsea, I suspect that he would only demand market rate for Chelsea, with all debts to him written off. Let’s not forget that, despite his massive investment in the team, he bought the club for something like £60 million. So he still stands to make a healthy profit on his overall investment, given that Chelsea now has one of the highest turnovers in in world football and is worth north of £600 million.
Those four clubs account for about three quarters of the so called debt in the Premier League. Other clubs, such as Tottenham, have virtually no debt at all.
Trevor - October 9th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Well Said JimB,
Although id like to see more of a penalty for clubs who go into administration, and declare bankrupt.
Although it is not fair to kick a club when it is down, what about a club that has played by all the rules.. Kept his finances in order but got relagated and a club high in debt with signings that year stay up only to go into adminstration!!!
I recon that if any club going into administration should get an automatic relagation at the end of that year! So should in fact a premier league club go into administration it would be moving down a league come the end of the season! Should they get relagated from the Premier league by finishing bottom instead of playing in the Championship league 1 they would be relagated again to League 2!
That would soon stop it!..
JimB - October 9th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
As I understand it, Platini’s suggestion is that salaries are capped proportionally to turnover. So there wwould be no fringe benefits, I’m afraid (other than marginally clipping Chelsea’s wings). If anything, a salary cap would only increase the gap between the wages that the likes of Man Utd can pay by comparison to the likes of Wigan - because, as things stand, Utd already only spend some 50% of turnover on wages while clubs like Wigan spend nearer 80%. If all clubs are capped to, say, just 50%, then the gap in wages will only grow.
The one club that will especially not want to see a salary cap introduced in the near future is Man City. It will be a huge frustration for them if, with all their new found oil wealth, they are forced to try to sign the best players on the wages determined by their decidely mediocre turnover. So all that will happen is that they, and other clubs, will find covert ways to get around the salary cap.
ash - October 9th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
this should have happened long ago,the amounts payed are ridiculous.I do believe players try to win every game but i also believe its no where near as important to them when they lose as it is to the fans.One reason for this is because players go home to ridiculous extravagance.Fans struggle to afford to go to games just so players can afford heated marble toilet seats.Theres nothing wrong with them earning good money but it has gone way too far,they should feel priveliged to have such an enjoyable job,that should be their main reward for being a pro.even if they earned £1000 a week its still a really good wage.i would be more than happy earning that ESPECIALLY IF MY JOB WAS AS FUN AND EXCITING AS THEIRS
JimB - October 9th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
ash - players are paid what the market decides. Clubs have to be competitive. They want the best players but so does every other club. In order to attract the best players, then, an ability to pay top dollar is a must. Film stars, musicians, other sportsmen….they too earn obscene wages. But, like footballers, they only earn them because the business that they work in generates huge revenues. People pay big money to go to gigs, sporting events and films; they buy records and football shirts. None of it would happen without the star performers and that is why they are rewarded so handsomely.
YNWA - October 9th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Rewarded so handsomely??….more like obscene rewards!!…Can anyone not live handsomely on say £10,000 a week?….I’d say CAP em…and not before time!!!!
ash - October 9th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
jimb I know what your saying but if you think about it people are struggling to afford this particular market.its all very well saying that people are still going but me and most of my mates cant afford to watch one and a half hours of footie anymore. its all become about the money teams dont play to win and give entertainment they now play not to lose.I agree that all teams want the best etc but that doesnt excuse how out of proportion this GAME has become and the same goes for actors musicians etc but we dont have to pay £30 a week to see them,how often does a new album get released maybe once a year.I just cant see how the game is better now than it was 30 years ago considering how much more money there is to spend.
Donavan Ried - October 9th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
JimB - October 9th, 2008 at 4:17 pm…… Sorry JimB, I think you are wrong here…..No sorry, re-read. I think that you have a good point here….I think the cap should apply a cross the whole of Europe and should be the same regardless of turn over…. Or, (and you lot are going to hate this) Do something like the Yanks and the MFL do only have; lets say three top earns at anyone club….e.g. 3 players on £100, 000 a week and the rest on £50,000, Or something like that, so that teams like Chelsea, Real, A,C, Man Utd couldn’t grab all the best players and pay them all £100,000 pw…..But as eluded to before cap the bonuses too
Emkay - October 9th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
“The other thing is a cap on the actual transfer fee, say £5 million!”….. I agree in princple but £5m…..
But I think even if you cap wages teams will find ways around it, Like buy players Houses, give them Corporate credit cards with £m’s limits to make up for the smaller wage packet,paying monies into specail accounts for them…
I think wages need to be capped for the sake of the clubs and fans as we are the ones pay for it, and when any club goes belly up we all lose….For some of these young and up and coming talent never find their way back into football…we lose the Rush’s,Keegan’s ,Owen’s….Don’t know what they can really do
kermit - October 9th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
totally agreed plus a pirce cap for player transfers also would be good
making the game once more about skill both player and managerial skill and ot merely about money
say the current market 35 million top pprice for player
and 100000 top wages
kermit - October 9th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
the nfl system is a good temnplate for it
JimB - October 9th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
ash - you’re right, of course. The game is no better now than it was thirty years ago. It is merely better marketed and better exploited by the clubs. And yes, people in general - and long suffering football fans in particular - are struggling in the current financial climate. And that looks set to continue for a few years at least. And, if as a result, attendances and ticket sales fall; and TV viewing figures and revenues fall; and fans no longer buy shirts; and sponsors negotiate for far smaller deals - then the market will have decided again. Inevitably, player wages will also have to fall.
But I don’t see any way that a salary cap can be imposed from above. Such a move would be contrary to EU law. The likes of rugby league only agreed a salary cap because they had universal support within their sport. That won’t happen in football. Besides, as I said above, I believe that a salary cap will make football clubs less transparent and accountable. Clubs will still find ways to ensure that they can pay what another, poorer, club cannot. Loopholes will be found. You can guarantee it.
Far better, I think, to let the market set a natural cap.
Tommy Livebird - October 9th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
I agree with Platini totally. But there is someone to break the transfer record in the near future. How do you stop big club approching players with some serious offer. Football is not like any other sport. Salary cap would be great introduction. But how long does it take to break another player record? Try next transfer window. That will f**k it right off. Yeah! so much for your salary cap, May be try it next season that might work.
Posting Rumors Too Quickly, Slow Down - October 9th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Hope those 4 teams all go under
Donavan Ried - October 9th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Posting Rumors Too Quickly, Slow Down - October 9th, 2008 at 7:47 pm …….just 2 points… (1) Five teams a mentioned here……… (2)How would that help your team?…… Do you believe the likes of Berbatov, Ronaldo, Lampard, Gerrard, Torres, or any of Arsenal boys would come to your club? …… I do not know what club you support but you are a Uefa cup club at best and ill equipped to deal with the Champions League…. Would imagine the top whack your club could afford is £50,000 pw at best…. The players from these clubs would head aboard….So again,…How would that help your club??
mark - October 10th, 2008 at 2:58 am
dick ^
Mike - October 10th, 2008 at 3:54 am
Attempts at social engineering are always doomed to fail.
Clubs who are prepared to cheat will do so by making payments via other channels, and honest clubs will then be at a greater disadvantage than ever before.
Players are employees just like any other industry, and are entitled to be paid what they can negotiate, so whether some people feel that salaries are “obscene” or whatever is irrelevant.
Football is part of the entertainment industry. The players might earn a lot of money, but then so do movie actors.
A club (read company), has to pay for skilled labour. It is up to the club to run itself within the bounds of fiscal responsibility or go bust like any other company.
Nick Reddyoff - October 10th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I don’t think a Salary cap is the immediate answer. If you look at the clubs and how they spend, a far greater expenditure is on Transfer fees rather than on wages. I think there should be some kind of cap on the amount a club is allowed to spend each season in transfers. This would bring transfer fees down, stop clubs paying massive sums of money twice annually, and consequently bring debt down.
After a time then the salary cap could be brought in to further reduce spending. It wouldn’t level the playing field as some people think - it hasn’t in either code of rugby really as the traditionally ‘league winning’ teams still dominate the top half of the tables, but it would bring the debt down and possibly stop another Leeds Utd!