Well it's been a while, but what better to bring me out of my summer hibernation than the topic of the very first post on this blog... welcome to the summer of money in football.
I've often talked about how much I hate European football clubs going out and spending ridiculous amounts of money on world superstars in an effort to basically buy trophies. If I didn't grow up playing the game and developing a genuine love for it, I would hate the sport right now.
Since the club seasons ended in May, the entire footballing landscape has been thrown into a melee of cash that the sport may never recover from.
It all started with Gareth Barry, a player who up until a week ago, I truly admired and respected. Gareth decided to leave England's club on the rise (Aston Villa) for the very club I denounced in my premiere entry: Manchester City.
City finished tenth to Villa's sixth... with a bankroll at least three times larger. And Villa is showing much more promise to push forward in the league (not to mention they qualified to play in the European Cup next season). So Gareth can't even consider saying his decision to move wasn't about the money (and to think I wanted my beloved Arsenal to sign him!)
A few days later it was Kaka...
Another subject of my first entry, the World Footballer of the Year from 2007 rejected a big money move to Manchester City to stay with AC Milan, a club rich in history and tradition. I gave Kaka much respect for denying Man City and still do.
Now he's been transferred to Real Madrid for a cool $95 million. While this is absurd, my beef is with Madrid, not Kaka... this was actually a good move for him. He left a club with tradition for a club with tradition which has better chances of winning the European title, and I'm completely okay with that.
Madrid on the other hand, no player on this Earth is worth $95 million (remember, this is a transfer fee payed to the player's current club. Personal terms between Kaka and Madrid are yet to be negotiated).
But Madrid wasn't done yet. Today they signed 2008 World Footballer of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo for a world record fee of $131 million (now Madrid owns the four highest transfers in world football history). After one trophyless season, Madrid is prepared to throw every dollar they have (and then some) towards buying new superstars.
Rumor has it, Madrid is now preparing a $65 million bid for Valencia striker David Villa. Some recession we're in huh? They'll be in debt by the end of the year and they couldn't care less. The business of this game is starting to make me sick.
