Bill bought Greaves for 99,000 quid.He didn't want to stick Jim with the first 100,000 British player.
.....and now we are into 10's of millions to buy a special player.
10 years from now........?
It's a frightening thought Smithy. The next big transfer will surely break the £100m barrier. In 10 years, who knows? We may have players generating more investment than some entire countries. The money in the game is the only aspect that I wholeheartedly hate. That and Chelsea. At a time when so many hard working people are struggling just to put bread on the table, it really is unnecessary.
The MLS in America has some type of system where they cap how much a team can spend in each window. This theoretically stops the wealthier teams from the coasts dominating the league. I'm not too sure of the ins and outs but there are clearly loopholes within the system or else the likes of Fat Frank, Pirlo, Keane, Beckham, Villa etc wouldn't have been signed exclusively by the coastal franchises.
With the Chinese now flexing their financial muscle, the amount of money in the game will increase exponentially and potentially spiral out of control. If FIFA had a spine, they would impose strict controls and regulations on fees and wages. Perhaps a tribunal could arbitrate transfers above let's say £30m. They can start by stripping agents of their power and cutting the insane comissions charged by them (Pogba's agent Raiona reportedly pocketed £23m for 5 weeks' work!). Then they can adopt a stricter version of the American system whereby the total amount a club can spend on players and wages is capped, relative to the league in which the club plays and their annual revenue. This would still give leagues like the PL and teams like United and Real an advantage, but NOTHING like the current situation.
The inevitable result of these controls will be that the wealthiest clubs will begin to rely more and more on a scouting network to unearth young talent. Which means much more will be pumped into grassroots level and academies rather than paying people like Rooney 350k a week to miscue 10 yard passes. It would also lead to a decrease in ticket prices and merchandise as clubs wouldn't need to generate the revenue to prop up a £70m marquee signing.
But this is all for when FIFA grows a pair, so give us a call when the moon turns blue. Cheers.