A monthly compilation of interesting business news related to soccer. March 2012.
Continue reading “The Month in Soccer Business: March 2012”
Real Madrid
The Soccer Import-Export Business…
Just a quick tidbit today.
The commercial trade in soccer talent is a global industry that shuttles hundreds of players between the leagues of the world every year. The river of money that follows the annual player migration is staggering in its volume and has spawned an entire economy that feeds people like Kia Joorabchian.
So where are those waves of cash spilling into? Which leagues sell the most and which buy the most? You can probably guess the top countries in each category but you will probably be surprised by some of the entrants further down.
Note that these figures reflect the the buying/selling of any player currently registered to one of the domestic leagues, not just players of the country’s nationality. As an example the sale of Ronaldo from Manchester United to Real Madrid counts in England’s column as an export and an import in Spain’s column, Portgual gets nothing. Figures in Euros.
Behold the top exporters of talent between 2006-2011: Continue reading “The Soccer Import-Export Business…”
Why UEFA Should Crowdsource Financial Fair Play
The Great Financial Meltdown was preventable. The post-mortem of the 2008 collapse has reiterated what is true of every man-made crisis, that they can be avoided. The warning lights were flashing long ago and there was ample time to stop the bubble. Robert Shiller knew, Nouriel Roubini knew and plenty of others were sounding the alarm because they had the information to understand what was going on. Currently soccer is depriving itself of its own early warning system because data on club finances, including player transfer activities and ownership is being kept out of supporter hands. This needs to change throughout the soccer world and the best place to start is through UEFA. Continue reading “Why UEFA Should Crowdsource Financial Fair Play”
Cristiano Ronaldo Used As Collateral
This was interesting enough to merit its own post.
The Spanish banking group Bankia has apparently posted Ronaldo’s registration (as well as Kaka’s) as collateral to secure loans from the European Central Bank:
“Could we see a situation in which the ECB seizes one of the players?“ wonders the Munich daily. “In theory, it is possible. Bankia would first have to become insolvent. Thereafter, Real would have to default on its loans, which are secured by advertising and television revenues.
Süddeutsche Zeitung (Original in German)
Given the recent troubles in the Eurozone caused by Greek instability and hints of contagion in other Euro members like Italy, it is unsurprising that a policy of measured lending maybe taking a backseat to a policy of “Take the money now!”.
If collateralizing player registrations becomes a trend maybe we will see the ECB field a Winning XI from the PIIGS?
The Soccer CEO 