As if it were dimes, so lavishly is already being sprinkled with millions during the summer transfer period that has just started. Until recently, relatively unknown players such as Darwin Nuñez (from Benfica to Liverpool) and Aurelien Tchouameni (from AS Monaco to Real Madrid), including bonuses, are paid almost 100 million euros. The players and their entourage often touch on salary, signing money, bonuses and fringe benefits an amount that approaches or even exceeds this transfer fee.
As if nothing has been learned from the past, because expensive purchases usually turn out to be an expensive purchase in this segment. Nine years ago, an eight-zero amount was first paid for a player; Gareth Bale moved from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid for 101 million. Bale has won five Champions Leagues, but was rarely a protagonist, suffered an astonishing amount of injuries and, for the past three years, seemed to only be able to recharge for international matches with Wales and games on his own golf course. He will leave this summer on a free transfer, as will two other members of ‘the 100 million club’: Paul Pogba (105 million) and Ousmane Dembele (140 million) from Manchester United and Barcelona respectively.
Barcelona also made about 120 million loss on Coutinho (135 million). His most memorable moments were his two goals in Barcelona-Bayern (8-2), made for the German club that hired him. Antoine Griezmann (120 million) also didn’t get his hands on the Camp Nou and was leased back by Barcelona last season to Atlético, which is still waiting for the emergence of Griezmann’s intended successor João Félix (127 million).
Neighbor Real saw top purchase Eden Hazard (115 million) especially in the rehabilitation area. Paris Saint-Germain would also have done better to pay Neymar and Barcelona per game played rather than deposit a transfer fee of 222 million and an annual salary of 45 million on the negotiating table. Neymar was missing in about half of the games, always on his sister’s birthday anyway. Then the purchase of Kylian Mbappé (180 million) was a better move by the Qatari owners. Although the French child prodigy was not yet able to help the Paris club to the Champions League.
Mega purchase increases status
Yet the millions continue to be pumped around, even though last summer’s three top signings – Romelu Lukaku (113 million), Jack Grealish (117) and Jadon Sancho (85) have not yet caught on with their new employers. For clubs like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, the money flow from the Middle East seems almost inexhaustible. They have manifested themselves on the world stage with their spectacular purchases.
The acclaimed English football writer Jonathan Wilson punctually in a column in The Observer the status-enhancing effect of a mega-purchase. “It’s like the pleasure that many seem to get from shopping. If you’re a billionaire, that’s probably worse: you may have the bigger yacht, but I’ve got the more expensive midfielder.”
However, there is also talk of a commercial flywheel. Big names on board (and if someone has cost more than 100 million, it automatically becomes a big name) means in the eyes of many that you have to be a big club. It provides invitations to lucrative tournaments in Asia and America and major sponsorship deals and media contracts. In the Netherlands, too, many youth wear tracksuits and uniforms from Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, although they have never been the best in Europe and the Dutch players there are usually reserve.
Contradiction
The supporters are initially enthusiastic about the top deals. A top player coming to your club is what everyone wants. Although there is also more and more opposition to the money spent. Supporters revolted against the proposed Super League in which the richest clubs wanted to secede. Louis van Gaal called Manchester United, where he previously coached, ‘a commercial club’; money goes to football. Something that former United player Robin van Persie emphasized earlier in the magazine Santos† “I’ve seen that club change completely in three years. In preparation we suddenly traveled from China, to Tokyo, to Sydney and then stopped somewhere on the way back for a game.
‘A few days later you played your first official game. Were you completely wrecked? You could cross every Thursday afternoon, because then you had to do shoots. Four hours on your feet for a beer brand in Thailand less than 48 hours before a match; that’s not okay in my opinion. From a distance it only got worse. At all top clubs.’
Manchester United’s top five signings have all been misses. Nevertheless, there is a lot of fishing for the Dutch former Ajax player Frenkie de Jong, for which Barcelona wants at least 90 million. Not so strange in itself. Only three of the top purchases of the last decade have been a resounding success. It concerns a Dutchman (Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool), a former Ajax player (Luis Suárez to Barcelona) and a Manchester United player (Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid). In addition, all were below that cursed limit of 100 million in terms of transfer fee.