On August 4, 2017, a soccer team spent 222 million U.S. dollars (193 million euros) on a single player.
For all those people reading this who are fans of soccer, you probably know that this transfer was one of astronomical proportions, a seismic shock that spread across the globe and pierced the hearts of every diehard fan alike. Also, Hi! I’m a soccer/football fan too.
For everyone else who doesn’t have a EPL app on their phone (just me?), lemme clear a few things up. Like any sport, soccer teams spend money every winter and summer season to either buy, sell or loan certain soccer players from other teams to join their own. In many ways, it is a rejuvenation of each team, to fix certain errors in play, and often a preparation for an exciting new season in August. (Which is starting THIS Saturday, by the way).
Usually, these soccer transfers go from 6 digit figures to 8 digit figures, notable ones being Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United to Real Madrid for around 94 million euros, Luis Suarez from Liverpool to FC Barcelona for around 64 million euros, and so on. However, let me be the first to tell you 193 million euros (or 222 million dollars), is the first seen in history.
Neymar Jr (seen above), a Brazilian left-wing superstar at a mere 22 years of age, transferred from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, in the most expensive signing of a player since the beginning of time. The cost was so expensive, that various organizations and the federal government of France had to put the club owner, Nasser Al-Khelafi, on the watch-list in suspension of corruption.
For 99% of the world population, 222 million U.S. dollars is a pretty difficult number to digest, so let me help you with some helpful comparisons:
1. 222 million U.S. dollars can buy approximately 750 Ferrari’s.
2. 222 million U.S. dollars can buy this mansion, and still have around 70 million left.
3. 222 million U.S. dollars is a higher GDP than the countries of Bermuda, Monaco, Venezuela and Libya in 2016.
4. The second most expensive private island in the world, Ronde Island, costs around 100 million dollars.
That means, with 222 million U.S. dollars, you could buy that island, as well as this Lincoln Park mansion too, and still have around 50 million left over… (just imagine putting this mansion on that island, then swimming in 50 million 1 dollars bills…heaven isn’t it.)
With a world record transfer deal like this, it is no wonder why some people are angered over the cost. Twitter users have taken to the internet to complain all about the exorbitant cost of this transfer, and what the money could have been used for instead. (Since anonymous, no link to the tweet…sorry)
But, let’s remember, that even though the cost is ridiculously high, soccer is fundamentally entertainment: one of the most expensive forms of entertainment. European soccer clubs make billions of dollars annually for ticket sales, sponsorships, merchandise and other revenue streams. According to Business Insider UK, PSG alone (the club that spent 222 million dollars on Neymar Jr.) earned approximately 1.4 billion dollars in 2016, the highest of any club that year. So with so much money, is it really a surprise that corruption runs amok? I hope not.
To a majority of soccer fans out there, like myself, there has been a disgusting pattern developing in the sport: the pursuit of money. Big name players, club heroes, legends of the game and young stars, all running off to different clubs and countries looking for a bigger paycheque. They ignore their loyalties and fans, all for an extra bit of back-pocket cash. But it doesn’t stop there. Organizations like FIFA have been overtly corrupt for the past 10 years, claiming themselves to be a non-profit, while possessing over a billion dollars in surplus.
Just when you thought the corruption could not get worse, it does. For the 2022 World Cup, the country of Qatar has reportedly had over 1,200 deaths in construction workers since preparations in 2010. If you are looking for evidence, Fortune International wrote an article talking about different stadiums that were built from “slave workers,” ones who earned pennies for their work, ones who suffer from a lack of basic human rights, and people troubled by other injustices. I highly recommend you have a skim. These are the people who work behind the scenes, the ones who put their lives at risk so we can enjoy 90 minutes of football. Ultimately, this has become the state of modern-day football, and for many like myself, it’s revolting.
But what can we really do? Not much, but what we’ve always done best. Enjoy soccer for the sake of soccer. It is the world’s most celebrated sport, the most popular sport. A sport that can bring millions upon millions of people together under one roof: the love for soccer. And yes, while there is a fraction of the population that plays the sport for a career, the rest us play, for the competition, for the team work, for the moment when you score a goal.
It doesn’t matter how poor or rich you are, the emotions that surge within you when you play the game are the exact same. Whether you have the 100 dollar Premier League Nike Ball, or a hand-sewn ball covered in a trash bag, rolling on the dust. It doesn’t matter if you have your neighbour friend Bill, or Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale playing along side you. It doesn’t matter if you play on the Camp Nou, or pavement on the street. We play, to play. This is what soccer is truly meant to be. This, my friends, is entertainment.
