Much of my childhood was spent playing a computer game called Championship Manager. In it, you choose a football club to manage and control fundamental elements such as training, tactics and player transfers. Unlike conventional football games, where you actually control the players, in Championship Manager you simply chose your squad and tactics, and the computer would simulate the match, sporadically flashing match highlights across the screen. It was riveting stuff, made for purists, and was the ultimate test of your knowledge of the beautiful game.

Of course, like all computer games, it was challenging. No matter how good I thought my tactics were, I’d still struggle against lesser opponents, and it used to drive me insane. So feeling quite jaded, I downloaded a program which allowed me to edit certain things about the game.

I gave myself shitloads of money.

This allowed my mediocre Villa team to afford spearheads like Del Piero, Raul, and Rivaldo. With the sudden injection of cash, I replaced my whole squad with superstars, and subsequently conquered the world. While I am the first to admit to my slight case of moral corruption, who cares? It was my game and my fantasy.

But what if this were to happen in real life? Could clubs just go out and essentially buy trophies? Are teams who do so conducting good sporting spirit? Would the trophies that they win hold the same prestige as those won by clubs whose successes came through good management and good tactics?

The answer, sadly, is an emphatic yes.

In the modern world of football, things are out of control. As popularity and global television deals kick in, teams in the top tiers are forced into excessively spending money - money they don’t have - simply to compete. Transfer fees for players are skyrocketing, and with them come a degree of player power never before seen in the history of the game. This all stems from the greed and mismanagement of world governing body FIFA, and clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea are simply taking advantage of this state of chaos to rule through the all mighty dollar.

Chelsea caused the first ripples when Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich bought out the London club. In little over five years, he spent around 300 million pounds in transfer fees to transform a mid table club into a powerhouse of English football.

Now an even larger shadow looms, in the shape of a massive oil drill, as the recent takeover of Manchester City by the Abu Dahbi United Group sets to rock the footballing world.

The Middle Eastern oil barons claim to have a bottomless pit of money, and have already shown a glimpse of their financial powers by tossing up a lazy 32.5 million pounds – a Premier League record transfer fee – to lure Brazilian superstar Robinho to Manchester, mere hours after their takeover.

While their spending power was limited due to the close of the transfer window, fellow Premier League clubs must now be dreading the New Year, when the window reopens and Abu Dahbi gets the chance to fulfil their promises of more superstars.

While rival clubs attack the takeover, mainly due to jealousy, one must argue from City’s point of view. How is using their own money to improve the club unfair? The finance of a club is just one of many parts which make up an organisation, so why would City not use it to their advantage if it is ultimately their main strength? They have not broken any rules of FIFA or the Premier League, and if complaints are forthcoming, they should indeed be pointed at the governing body for allowing the game to deteriorate to its current state.

Most professional sports leagues around the world have a salary cap system for their clubs (including the NBA, MLB and NFL, the only three professional sport leagues who make more money than the Premier League). The reason for a salary cap is two fold. Firstly, it encourages competition. By limiting the wage expenditure of a club, it theoretically limits the number of superstars it can afford, thereby spreading the talent pool across the league. Secondly, it serves as a protective measure against mindless overspending. As Leeds United fans found out the hard way, tying players down to massive long term contracts which the club cannot sustain is a recipe for disaster. Prior calls have been made for FIFA to begin adopting a mandatory salary cap system for all clubs, but their greed has prevented them taking this step.

FIFA knows that it controls the most popular sport in the world, and that a limitless amount of money can be made from it. They also know that a salary cap would kill off the chance of this happening. Geographical ties aside, people don’t just follow winners, they follow empires.

Clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and AC Milan are the most popular in the world not because they win a random trophy now and again, but because they have a splendid history of repeated success, and that’s what fans are attracted to. They each have a dazzling squad of players, and a salary cap would mean disaster for these clubs. FIFA, if anything, want to directly streamline the talent pool to a handful of glamorous clubs – those that it knows will make money – at the expense of smaller clubs.

With this attitude, FIFA has encouraged an unprecedented level of player power which adds to the financial strain of the clubs. Loyalty in football has gone out the window and players now act as mercenaries, holding clubs at ransom for ridiculous salaries.

Case in point was the recent Cristiano Ronaldo saga, where the Manchester United winger was a transfer target of Real Madrid. When told of Madrid’s interest in him, Ronaldo publicly expressed ambitions to play in the Spanish capital. But United were unwilling to sell the player, and believed he made the comments simply to force United into giving him an improved contract. In a refreshing move, Sir Alex Ferguson came out and pointedly reminded everyone that Ronaldo was under contract at United, and that it was his duty to serve out that contract. However, FIFA president Sepp Blatter waded into the debate by urging Manchester United to sell the Portuguese star, and further distanced himself from United by saying that their treatment of Ronaldo was akin to that of slavery.

While Ronaldo eventually stayed with the Red Devils, Blatter’s comments and views further highlights another growing problem in world football.

Photo courtesy of: dyobmit

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