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| *Nasri |
JUST five football clubs spent almost a quarter of the $4.25
billion splurged on international transfer deals processed by FIFA in 2013.
Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Tottenham and
Real Madrid spent $945 million in cross-border trades, according to figures
published on Wednesday by FIFA, which clears such deals only when both clubs
involved file mandatory financial details.
The market peaked with Madrid's record 100 million euros ($A157
million) buy of Gareth Bale from Tottenham in August.
"There are just a very few clubs making very big moves
and that is skewing the market, but the rest of the market is very
stable," FIFA Transfer Matching System (TMS) general manager Mark Goddard
told reporters.
Global spending rose 41 per cent year-on-year according to
the annual TMS report, which excludes deals between two clubs in the same
country.
FIFA cited three main reasons for the spending rise:
so-called "super-clubs", the English Premier League's spiralling
broadcast rights value and high turnover of coaches at leading clubs.
Monaco's
lavish spending - including on Colombia
forward Radamel Falcao - followed a takeover by Russian billionaire Dmitry
Rybolovlev, while PSG and Man City are backed by the Qatar
and Abu Dhabi
ruling families, respectively.
Tottenham reinvested after selling Wales winger Bale, while Madrid's commercial income of $801m last
season led all clubs for a ninth year.
England
was the runaway leader in the league table of nations by net spending in
international transfers, FIFA said.
English clubs spent $700m more than they received, followed
by Turkish clubs' net deficit of $150m.
Despite the Bale deal and Barcelona's
reported $84m fee for Brazil
star Neymar from Santos,
Spanish clubs topped the net earners in 2013.
Spain
collectively received $280m more than it spent - boosted by Falcao's move from
Atletico Madrid
for a reported $89m. Clubs in Brazil
earned $US239 million and Portuguese clubs got $250m net.
Cracking down on suspected money laundering and ensuring
greater transparency in the transfer market was part of FIFA's stated goal when
it made transfer matching mandatory in 2010, and clubs can be disciplined for
breaches.
"It's important for us to demonstrate that it's not a
paper tiger," Goddard said in a conference call on Tuesday.
However, he declined comment on disputed details of Neymar's
transfer which forced Barcelona
president Sandro Rosell to resign last week.
A Barcelona
club member alleges Rosell used false contracts to hide the true value, up to
$147m, of the deal which involved three other companies owning shares in
Neymar's economic rights.
City Spending Makes Mockery Of UEFA's Financial Fair
Play Rules
The Abu Dhabi-owned team announced on Wednesday losses of
$284m between 2011 and 2013, the first FFP monitoring period, as it spent
heavily to transform the club into a European power.
UEFA is only allowing losses of up to 45 million euros
$70.86m in that two-year period. Clubs exceeding that amount risk being
sanctioned, and could be banned from playing in Europe.
There isn't a single mention of FFP compliance in the annual report by the
team, which has won two titles - the 2011 FA Cup and 2012 Premier League -
since being bought in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, a
member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family.
Since 2008, City's net transfer spending has been $1.10
billion.
After losing $185.15m in 2011-12, City almost halved that
figure to $97.15m in 2012-13.
To comply with FFP, City could point to its spending on
infrastructure, including a new academy, the cost of long-term player
contracts, and losses coming down.
"Growing revenues and controlled expenses are bringing
the club to break-even in the immediate future and profitability
thereafter," chief executive Ferran Soriano said.The 2012-13 losses would
have been more than the previous year had City not generated $89.15m by selling
"intellectual property," the club's image rights, to "third
parties" or "related parties." The $42.29m received from
"related parties" includes selling the use of the "City"
name to New York City FC, the Major League Soccer club that is co-owned with
the New York Yankees baseball team and starts playing in 2015.
City, which has also recently bought A_League club Melbourne Heart,
disclosed that it is now operating with "zero financial debt," while
announcing that turnover has risen to $513.17m.
Salaries jumped by 15 per cent to $441.17m in 2012-13, the
highest in English football.
The first UEFA decisions on FFP compliance are expected
during March and April. European football's governing body will analyse whether
deals by clubs with companies connected with the owner were at market value or
were over-inflated to boost revenue.
Abu Dhabi-owned Etihad Airways is City's kit sponsor and has
the stadium naming rights.
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