Conspiracy theory time: Haaland’s supposed release clause should be opening up in January…
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Just in time for spots in the front line to open up due to African cup of nations so he will get immediate playing opportunities?
I love a good conspiracy theory.
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Why January out of interest?
Think I saw that it makes sense because he signed for Dortmund in January, so it’s like a 2 years from when he signed kind of concept. Not saying I necessarily believe it, but so long as he doesn’t distort our wage structure, I think it’s a very FSG-type of signing.
Anyone think the wages thing is getting out of hand?
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Getting? It got out of hand thirty years ago.
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of course but seems to have really ramped up to stupid levels over the last few years. I mean United paying £500k for a 36 year old, Haaland looking for £825k etc etc.
They are figures that are just unfeasible in my mind.
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I’d be very surprised if that was the case. Clubs wouldn’t normally want to risk having no say as to whether a player left mid-season.
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Jimmy Hill’s fault!
Wasn’t there a maximum the players could earn, maybe even £20 a week or something ridiculous, and they got the bus home with the fans and picked up a fish supper at the chippy, etc.
Then Jimmy Hilly stuck his chin in, and next thing you know, Haaland wants £825k.
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And before him there was George Eastham, the original Bosman. I don’t blame the players though.
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I don’t blame the players either. Get as much as you can. It’s a huge industry, generating vast sums of money, and they are the stars.
Might as well argue about film stars getting too much money, and so on and so forth. If the money is there at the top level of the game, have at it.
I do think transfer fees will start to be hit as more an more players wind their contracts down. They will want more of that cash in their own pockets.
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Let me guess, the day you retired?
In the USA, gas could never, ever go above $1 a gallon. Nobody would ever spend a million pounds on a player. Then 10 then 100. We’ll see a million a week player probably in 2 years (although that level of universe class player is rather scarce). First billion pound player? It will happen one day.
Tbf, I’d want 825k to play for Chelsea as well! 
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Considering what they were getting then and what the clubs were getting it had to break eventually and it was right it did.
However the problem was the PL, no one could predict that.
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Yes, it was absolutely right that it broke back in the day. I vaguely remember images of fat cat directors in Jags, smoking cigars and whatnot, while the good old players propped the whole thing up and only took a modest wage. I think the max was still 3-4 times the average wage of the day, so the best players were seen as doing well for themselves, but it was a short career, and they weren’t seeing the money the game was making, principally from thousands of fans paying to go and watch them play.
Fast forward to today, and it is ridiculous, I do agree with that!
I remember when Rush first got £10k a week and it was amazing to me.
Then I remember when Brian Laudrup got £50k a week at Chelsea and it seemed ludicrous.
Ideally there would be a collective sort of spirit about the whole thing, with the top players submitting to a salary cap and the revenue going to various other channels for the good of the game. However…
Human nature being what it is, I’m not seeing it! Take Mo’s new deal for example, presumably under negotiation. Let’s imagine he is asking for £500k per week. But now compare to a new hypothetical reality, where the cap is £250k per week. If I were Mo, I would be thinking the extra cash he generates would just be going to rich American billionaires, so if it’s all the same, I’ll have that for myself, thank you.
And then at that point, such is the character of the player, I’m sure a healthy portion of what he makes finds it’s way back to Egypt, to help lift the people there, but that’s his choice to do, and he would certainly rather that than rich owners getting even richer through limiting his earning potential.
It’s a tricky situation. Ridiculous, obviously, but at heart I’m a capitalist, and people should make what they can. Ideally, that dovetails with good character, and people do something useful with their position in life.
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Really good book on it called “when footballers were skint” only one who comes across as not bitter about wages was Dave Whelan.
Most of its good the last bit is a bit “better in my day” but the writer does them justice in the previous 300 pages só not to effect the overall book too much.
PL brought a lot in it, I think some of the Liverpool players in There she Goes by Simon Hughes refrain that they didn’t feel that disconnected from the fans and poverty but that comes apparent a decade later, credit to players like Fowler though who still saw the connection.
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According to Marca, and incorrectly reproduced on the beeb’s gossip column, since signing from Barca in 2017, Neymar has cost PSG €489m in transfer fees and wages.
Obviously only a state funded club, or one supported by a Russian oil magnate, could afford such astronomical costs.
For clubs such as ourselves it would be unsustainable.
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No question he’ll be building hospitals and schools all over Egypt. You could argue it would actually be a brilliant thing that a supremely talented player milks capitalism for every penny and then philanthropy re-distributes the wealth. Takes a special person to do it though, not one who gold plates lambos.
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Or why not offer him a split pay deal - he gets x p/w and then the club put x towards the players’ charitable destinations?
@Kopstar Is something like this legal?
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