The English Premier League Divide getting smaller and smaller
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo believes that English Premier League Clubs can no longer compete with the Spanish Giants in terms of money.
In a week when Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 5-1 and Barcelona hammered Almeria 8-0, it seems as though Spanish La Liga has become a two horse race with Villarreal trailing 7 points behind the League leaders.
However in England, it is turning out to be the tightest affair in the history of Premiership.
Arsenal and Chelsea have already lost 4 games each this season in 14 games and many top clubs have struggled against smaller teams. Manchester United remains the only club to remain unbeaten, however, they have managed draws in half of their games which are too high for a top team. Top 12 clubs in the league are within 10 points range and it is no longer a two horse race anymore between Chelsea and Manchester United. Now Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are all closing in on the big boys.
Many football pundits believe that it’s the lack of money that has caused Premier League to become most open in years.
It may come as a surprise to many as Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal all bagged £50million from TV revenue last season along with another £30million form Champions League football.
This doesn’t include £1.4billion deal of league’s new double your money contract from overseas TV rights. It seems funny that in spite of all this, these clubs are still struggling to maintain their dominance in the English game.
In contrast the Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona still earn far more than their English rivals, thanks to their individual TV rights that amount to staggering £136million per year. Until the Premier League clubs manage their own TV deals, this divide will remain there.
There is another threat after the new UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations which ask all the European clubs to break even by the end of 2013-2014 season. If any club fails to meet the regulation then it will risk a Champions League ban.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp believes that is the reason the Premier League is wide open and the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United are not the same sides of past when they used to spend big money on players.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has already started to look for ways to cut his spending and reduce his wage bills. In summer, some high profile players such as Michael Ballack, Joe Cole and Ricardo Carvalho were offloaded.
Similarly, Manchested United sold Cristiano Ronaldo for a record £80million to pay their ever rising debt but brought in fringe players like Michael Owen on free transfer. He was reduced to substitute appearances and Carling Cup games only. This season they brought in players like Chris Smallings and Javier Hernandez who although have the necessary footballing skills but not the market value which the big names share because of their experience.
It seems big spending days are over at United and Chelsea and now they will have to look towards other means to compete at the highest level by promoting young players. That also provides other clubs to challenge them and break their monopoly in the league.
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