Juve, Pogba: rules are needed to protect clubs too – The commentary

Damage after damage: Paul Pogba ends a season that never took off early, Juve is counting on other losses. The player is the first to suffer, the bianconeri resign themselves to the long absence and the investment that has so far failed. Pogba had already missed 100 games in his five years at United, his encore in Turin went much the same way. Yet he will not give up a euro of salary. It happens, but can it be normal? No, because in addition to the repercussions on a sporting level there are also obvious economic implications, heavier with a salary of eight million a year plus bonuses.

Redondo

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In the past there are those who have felt obliged, in the face of a prolonged absence due to physical ailments, to partially or completely renounce their salaries. Fernando Redondo amazed everyone in 2000-01, when he asked and obtained from Milan not to be paid until the day he returned to the field in 2002-03. The story is remembered precisely because it is exceptional: it does not appear that there have been other similar cases. Not even Pogba escapes the rule: no stop to wire transfers. Nor can we expect who knows what spontaneous choice on the part of regular salaried workers. The contracts are armored and cannot be discussed, carry on like this. Instead of resigning behind the classic “Nothing can be done”, it would be better, in the general interest of the clubs themselves and consequently of the players, to intervene with effective rules.

Impact

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The equation is very simple, not bizarre: the more losses there are, as for example in the Pogba case, the more budgets suffer, the more difficult it becomes to guarantee adequate wages. In a football that needs to be made increasingly sustainable, it would be right to limit the repercussions on all fronts to a minimum, even from negative variables such as the lack of performance of a professional athlete. In the long run, the erosion of revenues can undermine the foundations of the club, the toy would risk breaking. It would therefore be appropriate to devise and implement a regulatory system that also regulates the discipline of accidents. Instead of relying on improvisation, it is better to equip yourself in the prevention phase, as in model systems. It will never be too late.