Yeah I considered Arsenal and Inter Milan. But after a bit of consideration I decided they weren't Man U, Liverpool or AC Milan, Juve in the footballing landscape of Europe. They just don't have the same standing. Just that next rung down for me.
FFP has got nothing to do with fair play and everything to do with the finances of the so called big clubs. Any FFP rules that were genuinely aimed at protecting football would focus on not spending money that clubs don't have rather than stopping clubs from spending money that they can access.
If there was any seriousness at all about protecting the game, caps would be introduced and enforced on player salaries, numbers of transfers, "agents" would be effectively abolished (they really, really shouldn't exist) and an entire revamp of the loan system should be introduced. Football is effectively run by capitalists now - it sold its soul a while ago and you can't buy that back. It's spineless, shameless and has a worse, more rigid class structure than Victorian Britain.
I think this is good news, I think the Saudis will be lining up sponsors to sponsor our new sponsor so we increase sponsorship revenue.
Just refreshed my memory with research. The G14 'elite' clubs, many of which had been instrumental in the creation of the Champions League was formed in 2000. This was soon expanded to the G18 and included: RMadrid, Barcelona, Valencia, ManU, Liverpool, Arsenal, Inter, Juventus, Milan, Marseille, PSG, Lyon, Munich, Dortmund, Leverkusen, Ajax, PSV and Porto. No Sunderland then. And not us either ...... although we are included in the European Club Association, formed after the dissolution of the G14/18 in 2008.
I personally think ffp should be scrapped and a salary cap % of say 60% of turnover introduced. How the income comes into the club is irrelevant in my opinion as provided it’s T/O and the bottom line over the 3 year average is NOT a loss then the clubs balance sheet should in theory be safe. This may drive transfer fees up even higher mind!
Only spending what you make/turnover etc is, fundamentally, a good idea. However, it basically removes any chance of a mid-table club ever becoming a contender at the top of the major leagues. Obviously, FIFA/UEFA need to be the ones to impose such restrictions. Otherwise if Serie A decided to impose a £30,000 per week wage limit, many of the best players would be off to the Bundesliga, La Liga or the Premier League at the earliest opportunity. So a universal cap would be imposed, and I think the benefits could be incredible. Imagine no player could earn more than £50,000 a week and could not be signed for more than £20 million. Top players could still be earning millions a year and top clubs would still be able to sign players other teams couldn't afford, not least because of the prestige that goes with a top side. It would just stop them having the double advantage of prestige and money. This is how they are bullying the rest of football, as they would in the business world. Furthermore, a club with a good youth system, which produces top-quality players, could still be rewarded for their work and might even be able to hold on to these players for an extra season given the reduced financial incentive, which would probably be good for the player as well. There are of course issues. Under this system, Lionel Messi would earn and be worth the same as a lot of other lesser talented players. How is that fair? Well I'd argue Messi would still earn more. He is far more likely to get endorsements, royalties etc. How much money does each individual need? Why does football have to mirror the corrupt have and have not set up of our society? I realise players (and managers if applied to them) would probably baulk at it and the top clubs would prevent it. But if you had someone at the top of FIFA who genuinely cared about football and the sporting aspect, this would happen. It could happen over a period of time Unfortunately, it seems highly unlikely that something like this will happy any time soon. There could well be a huge outcry from big clubs worried about increased competition, and it would be very hard to ensure that there were no loopholes to be exploited. I'd love to see it, but maybe after we've enjoyed a decade of being Billy Big Bollocks with all the money
This would be great in principle, but I don't think FIFA have the desire or ability to police it. All that would happen is that the next 10 players a team like Man City wanted would be offered £50,000 a week wages and a £200,000 a week endorsement from one of the Etihad businesses. Rich clubs would probably get even more of the best players as the other clubs couldn't even work out a way of outbidding them for just one star player they would build their team around. The transfer cap would put an end to that.
Like I say closing the loopholes would be massive issue. But the biggest issue is who is lining who's pockets and actually controlling the game. The big boys and elite clubs will not allow this. We know they've privately threatened a new European league should their wishes not be adhered to.
Therein lies the problem. This isn't even a football issue. Replace a few words and you are describing the world. The change in attitude required from people at every level would be massive. Those who have a level of control or advantage are loathed to give it up in the name of a fairer playing field. We even do it ourselves as individuals. We want all the loopholes closed - except the ones that benefit us. It's sad, but I can't see it changing for a long long time, if at all.