Pros and cons of wage ceiling in football
The dramatic last week at Manchester United has restarted many debates in the European football. Wayne Rooney, the striker for England and Manchester United, apparently used a threat to leave his club in order to get a better deal out of Ferguson. Rooney,
who was currently being paid only £100,000 per week, has signed a new contract allegedly worth more than double the amount. This is a time of awe in world of football, which endangers smaller clubs.
Therefore, the debate has already started regarding a salary cap, the maximum limit on salary of a player. The salary race was started by Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea, while Manchester City has already surpassed many in terms of wage bill. This time, however,
Manchester United was the victim, as the Red Devils had to break their own rules in order to pay Wayne Rooney. But, they had no choice, as Rooney was being offered a much better salary in the clubs who showed interest in him.
However, after the global financial crisis, UEFA seems to be taking strict actions in order to promote healthy fiscal policies in European clubs. The regulations have been implemented which would require clubs to break even at the end of 2012 season. Otherwise,
strict punishments would be laid down on the defaulters, which would include a ban on playing in European competitions. However, it seems that UEFA is not ready to let the clubs devise their own policies, as they are now planning to introduce a salary cap
as well.
Once again, the person who is most hurt by this Wayne Rooney drama is Arsene Wenger, the manager of Arsenal. Arsenal is one of the biggest clubs in Europe where a very strict financial policy is being pursued. However, the market is causing trouble for Wenger,
as his players are also not keen on staying in Arsenal, because they are paid lesser than other clubs in Europe. Therefore, Wenger showed his disappointment over the Wayne Rooney’s new wage, indicating that a ceiling should be enforced on the wages of football
players.
On the other hand, Arsenal captain, Cesc Fabregas, was not ready to accept the criticism of his manager. The Spanish youngster and Arsenal captain said that he did not want to leave Arsenal because of a better pay, but because of a better opportunity. This
statement seems a little exaggerated because everyone knows that Fabregas would have better playing opportunities in Arsenal, rather than in Barcelona, where he is not needed at the moment.
Nevertheless, there were many who backed the idea being put forward by UEFA. Chelsea’s Chairman, Bruce Buck, was also happy with the salary cap idea, especially because Chelsea, along with many other clubs, is trying to fulfil UEFA’s financial requirements.
At this moment, Chelsea is preparing a plan to cut their players’ wages short in the summer. If such a move is implemented, it would definitely help the London side a lot, without damaging their relationship with their players.
However, Buck was keen on implementing a wage policy throughout the world. He also indicated that cricketers are being paid a lot, especially in IPL, which should also considered by the sport governing bodies.
By making the long story short, many clubs would benefit from further financial regulations enforced by UEFA. Although, clubs like Manchester City would face problems, as it would be hard for them to retain players, but in general it would help all these
clubs to fulfil other regulations.
On the contrary, the clubs must be feeling a lot of intrusion in their internal matters, as an outside body is dictating their policy. The idea of breaking even was great, but it should be left to the clubs to decide the way they are going to achieve that.
In short, it would be impossible for clubs to pay huge salaries to their players, when they are trying to break even at the end of the season.
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