Interesting article on FIFA on the big spending of soccer clubs

Galaxy · 10-13-2005, 12:56 AM

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/4985278

Blatter slams wealthy owners and greed

LONDON (AP) - Soccer is in danger of being destroyed by wealthy club owners pouring "pornographic amounts of money" into the game, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said.

"What we are faced with today is a football society of haves and have nots," the head of world soccer's governing body wrote in a column in Wednesday's Financial Times. "This cannot be the future of our game. FIFA cannot sit back and see greed rule the football world. Nor shall we."
Blatter said a new FIFA task force would seek to curb the "misguided, wild-west style of capitalism" which threatens to "suffocate" the game.

"I am confident that this new initiative will bear fruit quickly and decisively," he said, without giving any specific solutions.

Blatter singled out the emergence of "individuals with little or no history of interest in the game, who have happened upon football as a means of serving some hidden agenda."

"Having set foot in the sport seemingly out of nowhere, they proceed to throw pornographic amounts of money at it," he said.

Blatter did not name any owners, clubs or leagues, but his attack appeared largely aimed at England's Premier League and Chelsea.

Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea two years ago and has spent about US$500 million buying players for the club, which captured the English league title last season and has won all its games so far this year to hold a nine-point lead in the standings.

Manchester United was bought out earlier this year by American businessman Malcolm Glazer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"Unlimited cash has given a handful of club owners the wherewithal to control the global game by splashing unimaginable sums on a tiny group of elite players," Blatter said. "More than ever before, the majority is fighting with spears, while the greedy few have the financial equivalent of nuclear warheads."

Blatter also lamented practices that "at best expose the ugly side of club football and, at worst, threaten its very existence."

He described as "slavery" the system whereby agents purchase the commercial rights to young players, mainly Brazilians, and cash in when they are sold to clubs.

"To FIFA such transactions fall well short of minimum standards of decency," Blatter said. "We can no longer merely accept them. Nor shall we."

The FIFA chief also cited salary negotiations which produce "semi-educated, sometimes foul-mouthed players on 100,000 pounds (US$174,000; €145,000) a week holding clubs to ransom until they get, say 120,000 pounds (US$210,000; €174,000)."

"More often than not, these players are guided in their endeavors by unsavory agents whose income is a percentage of the deal they cut for their client," he said. "It is simply insane for any player to 'earn' 6 million-8 million pounds (US$10.4 million-US$13.9 million; €8.7 million-€11.6 million) a year when the annual budget of even a club competing in Europe's Champions League may be less than half that."

In another apparent reference to England, Blatter said it was no surprise the game has suffered from a drop in attendance and saturation of live television coverage. In a clear shot at Chelsea's domination, he said, "What is interesting about a league whose champions can be predicted with confidence after about five games?"

DaddyTorgo · 10-13-2005, 01:26 AM

i agree with pretty much everything Blatter has said here, but I wonder if there's anything he can really do about it. I wish there was something he could do about it though. I really wish.

Galaxy · 10-13-2005, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

i agree with pretty much everything Blatter has said here, but I wonder if there's anything he can really do about it. I wish there was something he could do about it though. I really wish.

Hasn't it always been this way though? Just seems like new teams are taking the throne now.

Mac Howard · 10-13-2005, 04:50 AM

Quote:

Manchester United was bought out earlier this year by American businessman Malcolm Glazer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Including Glazer in an article about rich businessmen putting "pornographic" amounts of money into a club shows a lamentably ignorant view of what Glazer has done to Man Utd

Rando · 10-13-2005, 05:51 AM

Wait... "pornographic amounts of money"?

Quote:

"It is simply insane for any player to 'earn' 6 million-8 million pounds (US$10.4 million-US$13.9 million; €8.7 million-€11.6 million) a year..."

Oh yeah... Mmm, you know that little euro sign thingy gets me so hot.

Quote:

"semi-educated, sometimes foul-mouthed players on 100,000 pounds (US$174,000; €145,000) a week holding clubs to ransom until they get, say 120,000 pounds (US$210,000; €174,000)."

Aaah, yeah pounds, more... more pounds.

Quote:

Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea two years ago and has spent about US$500 million buying players for the club,

Chelsea, oh yeah. Show it to me. Let me see those zeros. 5... 0... 0... O... Oh... oh... oooaaaaaaah. Yeah.

Moneyshot baby. Makes me wanna clean it up with a hundred dollar bill.

Alf · 10-13-2005, 06:49 AM

introduce salary cap

oykib · 10-13-2005, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alf

introduce salary cap

Why is that always the solution? I don't see why the players should be restricted. If you want more balance, then find a way to share revenue better.

condors · 10-13-2005, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oykib

Why is that always the solution? I don't see why the players should be restricted. If you want more balance, then find a way to share revenue better.

The problem with that is Chelsea's 500 million buying spree didn't come from revenue. It came from a new owner with deep pockets. What makes things worse is there are owners who may not care about winning so much as the bottom line.

KeyserSoze · 10-13-2005, 08:22 AM

The Main problem is that the "G14" (A comitee of the 14 most powerful clubs) is asking the FIFA for money for the time they lend their players free at the national teams.

A minor Belgian club (Charleroi maybe?) had presented a "demand" because a player was injured with his national team and they had to pay their contract. And the G14 is supporting this demand.

If they win in the courts, the FIFA will pay big quantities of money (who's the greedy?), so Mr. Blatter is making all the movements to stop this demand.

Marc Vaughan · 10-13-2005, 08:27 AM

KeyserSoze has things about right imho, as with lots of football in FIFA/EUFA there is a huge amount of politics kicking around.

(for those of you who wonder how honest Mr. Blatter is with regards to his concerns about people being over-paid)
Interestingly Blatters salary is around £1,000,000 per annum .... partially paid for by the clubs he's criticising ..

... again just my opinion ...

Katon · 10-13-2005, 01:17 PM

Sepp Blatter is complaining that there's too much greed in football? Wow.

Galaxy · 10-13-2005, 01:24 PM

I always been curious,
Why would the G14, and maybe some of the other top 6 or 8 non-member clubs form a "Super League"? The revenue, increase exposure and marketing would have to be very tempting.

Crapshoot · 10-13-2005, 01:31 PM

Blatter is a frigging idiot - players have every right to the money - good for them. Jealous old farts whining about player's salaries in any sport never hold much appeal.

SirFozzie · 10-13-2005, 01:34 PM

And the PFA's response:

12/10/05 - Sport section

PFA chief: Blatter rude and offensive

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been accused of being rude and offensive after his outspoken attack on "semi-educated, sometimes foul-mouthed, players demanding insane wages".

Blatter has vowed to stop "greed ruling the world of football" and launched a blistering attack on avaricious players and hugely wealthy club owners he claims are threatening the future of football.

PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor has hit back though and he said: "It strikes me as rude and extremely offensive for someone in his position to brand players as semi-educated when they have devoted all their lives to reaching the very top of their profession."

He continued: "I find it bizarre that the head of FIFA, which is a organisation which has built its huge wealth on the back of players, is having a go at those same players. He is biting the hand that feeds him.

"FIFA will be making as much money as they can from the World Cups and yet he is criticising players for trying to maximise their income from a very short career."

The FIFA president also claimed the huge amounts of money being thrown around by some club owners could suffocate the game and make it predictable.

Blatter insists a new FIFA task force set up to deal with corruption and multiple ownership issues will deal with the excesses.

But Taylor also takes issue with Blatter on that score.

The PFA chief executive added: "I find it equally bizarre that the head of world football should be criticising people who want to put the millions they have earned into the game and into the clubs. I don't think you can suffocate the game with money."

Galaxy · 10-13-2005, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

And the PFA's response:

12/10/05 - Sport section

PFA chief: Blatter rude and offensive

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been accused of being rude and offensive after his outspoken attack on "semi-educated, sometimes foul-mouthed, players demanding insane wages".

Blatter has vowed to stop "greed ruling the world of football" and launched a blistering attack on avaricious players and hugely wealthy club owners he claims are threatening the future of football.

PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor has hit back though and he said: "It strikes me as rude and extremely offensive for someone in his position to brand players as semi-educated when they have devoted all their lives to reaching the very top of their profession."

He continued: "I find it bizarre that the head of FIFA, which is a organisation which has built its huge wealth on the back of players, is having a go at those same players. He is biting the hand that feeds him.

"FIFA will be making as much money as they can from the World Cups and yet he is criticising players for trying to maximise their income from a very short career."

The FIFA president also claimed the huge amounts of money being thrown around by some club owners could suffocate the game and make it predictable.

Blatter insists a new FIFA task force set up to deal with corruption and multiple ownership issues will deal with the excesses.

But Taylor also takes issue with Blatter on that score.

The PFA chief executive added: "I find it equally bizarre that the head of world football should be criticising people who want to put the millions they have earned into the game and into the clubs. I don't think you can suffocate the game with money."

What's to stop the clubs from breaking away from the FIFA? The FIFA can't do anything, can they?

PilotMan · 10-13-2005, 07:49 PM

Globalization at work in soccer. They are at a big crossroads, the disparity could kill the game, but screwing with it too much could be just as bad.

10-13-2005, 06:49 AM	#6
Alf Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Rennes, France	introduce salary cap __________________ FOFL - GML - IHOF - FranceStats

10-13-2005, 01:34 PM	#14
SirFozzie Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: The State of Insanity	And the PFA's response: 12/10/05 - Sport section PFA chief: Blatter rude and offensive FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been accused of being rude and offensive after his outspoken attack on "semi-educated, sometimes foul-mouthed, players demanding insane wages". Blatter has vowed to stop "greed ruling the world of football" and launched a blistering attack on avaricious players and hugely wealthy club owners he claims are threatening the future of football. PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor has hit back though and he said: "It strikes me as rude and extremely offensive for someone in his position to brand players as semi-educated when they have devoted all their lives to reaching the very top of their profession." He continued: "I find it bizarre that the head of FIFA, which is a organisation which has built its huge wealth on the back of players, is having a go at those same players. He is biting the hand that feeds him. "FIFA will be making as much money as they can from the World Cups and yet he is criticising players for trying to maximise their income from a very short career." The FIFA president also claimed the huge amounts of money being thrown around by some club owners could suffocate the game and make it predictable. Blatter insists a new FIFA task force set up to deal with corruption and multiple ownership issues will deal with the excesses. But Taylor also takes issue with Blatter on that score. The PFA chief executive added: "I find it equally bizarre that the head of world football should be criticising people who want to put the millions they have earned into the game and into the clubs. I don't think you can suffocate the game with money." __________________ Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com

10-13-2005, 07:49 PM	#16
PilotMan Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Seven miles up	Globalization at work in soccer. They are at a big crossroads, the disparity could kill the game, but screwing with it too much could be just as bad. __________________ He's just like if Snow White was competitive, horny, and capable of beating the shit out of anyone that called her Pops. Like Steam? Join the FOFC Steam group here: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/FOFConSteam

10-13-2005, 01:26 AM	#2
DaddyTorgo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Massachusetts	i agree with pretty much everything Blatter has said here, but I wonder if there's anything he can really do about it. I wish there was something he could do about it though. I really wish.

10-13-2005, 08:22 AM	#9
KeyserSoze H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Spain	The Main problem is that the "G14" (A comitee of the 14 most powerful clubs) is asking the FIFA for money for the time they lend their players free at the national teams. A minor Belgian club (Charleroi maybe?) had presented a "demand" because a player was injured with his national team and they had to pay their contract. And the G14 is supporting this demand. If they win in the courts, the FIFA will pay big quantities of money (who's the greedy?), so Mr. Blatter is making all the movements to stop this demand.

10-13-2005, 08:27 AM	#10
Marc Vaughan SI Games Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Melbourne, FL	KeyserSoze has things about right imho, as with lots of football in FIFA/EUFA there is a huge amount of politics kicking around. (for those of you who wonder how honest Mr. Blatter is with regards to his concerns about people being over-paid) Interestingly Blatters salary is around £1,000,000 per annum .... partially paid for by the clubs he's criticising .. ... again just my opinion ...

10-13-2005, 01:17 PM	#11
Katon College Benchwarmer Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Providence, RI	Sepp Blatter is complaining that there's too much greed in football? Wow.

10-13-2005, 01:24 PM	#12
Galaxy Coordinator Join Date: Apr 2005	I always been curious, Why would the G14, and maybe some of the other top 6 or 8 non-member clubs form a "Super League"? The revenue, increase exposure and marketing would have to be very tempting.

10-13-2005, 01:31 PM	#13
Crapshoot Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Dec 2003	Blatter is a frigging idiot - players have every right to the money - good for them. Jealous old farts whining about player's salaries in any sport never hold much appeal.

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