Falcao, Fabregas, Costa and Sanchez all arrived in England this summer: with them came the most expensive transfer window Premier League history
Despite their lack of Champions League football and the cash injection that comes with it, Manchester United were still able to invest a record £149m, something Calzada believes is due to the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. FFP rulings prevent professional football clubs spending more than they earn in the quest for glory and in doing so getting into financial problems which might threaten their long term existence.
Manchester United were unrestricted by FPP regulations and were able to spend big on world class striker Radamel Falcao
“FFP has become the most important factor of the transfer window,” he said. “Even the wealthiest teams have clearly been affected by the rules and can only invest as much as they collect. Paris Saint German and Monaco are examples of clubs who, even with wealthy owners, have almost not invested because of FFP.
“FFP is meant to curb risk but it ends up provoking the opposite effect. Teams with high revenue will become stronger, whilst those with limitations cannot so much. Yes, Monaco has wealth, but Ligue 1 is not strong enough – revenue hasn’t let them keep up with the rest”.
Calzada sees Manchester United’s shopping spree as a sign of commercial power in the window trumping all else: “The urgency shown by United is one of the primary reasons that such sums of money are being spent in the Premier League. They do not need to contend with FFP yet as their commercial viability allows for huge profits”.
What about the World Cup? According to Calzada, it’s not a big as factor as you would think: “The clearest illustration of the impact of the World Cup is James Rodriguez signing for Real Madrid. €80m for a player based on success in a single tournament is a lot of money. But clubs are able to scout all year round and have the technology to do so. This means that although certain players get picked up from their performances, the World Cup is not a key trend to this window”.
James Rodriguez earned himself a big-money move to Real Madrid off the back of an impressive showing at the World Cup, earning the Golden Boot award
Prime Time Sports in association with Soccerex release a review of each window at closing. Prime Time’s last review highlighted the Barclays Premier League as the most successful domestic club football competition.
Even with the influx of world class stars such as Luis Suarez, James Rodriguez, and Toni Kroos to Spain, Calzada doesn’t think La Liga has been able to jump ahead of its rivals this year. “The total spent in La Liga came to £425m, the Premier League nearly doubles that of La Liga,” he said. “In terms of wealth, the Premier League is clearly the strongest competition. Will the signings perform in La Liga? We will have to wait and see.”
The trend of inflated prices in England has lead to frustration, conveyed by managers such as Sean Dyche at Burnley, Nigel Pearson at Leicester City and Alan Pardew at Newcastle all relating to what they call ‘value for money’, something as an agent himself, Calzada can sympathise with: “The market is more polarized than ever. Only a few select teams have access to real money and the biggest names. The prices inflate because the better players who are attainable to a modest club are usually wanted by more than one of them”.
Many have argued that FPP regulations have only made the group of elite clubs and players more exclusive and far out of reach for clubs like Sean Dyche’s Burnley
Calzada conceded that although the top teams have dominated spending in each league, the financial implications of the Champions League are not having a negative impact on the sides outside of the top four. “It’s not like the past, you have teams such as Tottenham and Everton who are able to challenge those spots,” he said. “Don’t forget that with Champions League football comes higher wages and higher bonuses”.
Overall, it has been a successful summer for England’s elite. Calzada doesn’t see things changing anytime soon. “With international expansion and growth in distribution, we will continue to see inflation in transfer prices,” he says. “In order to compete, foreign competitions should mirror the Premier League, where there is only a small difference in television revenue between all clubs.
Arsenal joined in the Premier League spending spree, splashing out on Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez
“In Spain, the top sides such as Barcelona and Real Madrid take nearly 10 times the amount of television revenue when compared to the lesser sides. In England, it is nearer to 1.6 / 1 between all 20 clubs.”
It looks as though for the future, clubs of the Barclay’s Premier League, no matter who, will be head and shoulders above all but the elite of European football when it comes to commercial revenue. Expect the spending to stay, expect the spending to grow.
Is FPP detrimental to smaller clubs? Do you think that it has created a separate transfer market that is inaccessible to all that aren’t ‘super-clubs’.
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