Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the football industry was booming as their spending was at an all-time peak.
Last summer, the Brazilian footballer, Neymar Jr. became a highlight in the news for achieving the status of being the world’s most expensive football player with a net worth of about $263 million. Five big leagues spent a record-breaking €5.5 billion in 2019. In 2018, this number was €900 million.
11 clubs in the English Premier League invested the most in the history of the League. La Liga spent more than $1 billion, which was the first time for the league to do so.
Things started to change as the COVID-19 virus spread across the world and the football industry was hit badly among other industries. The cash flows dried up and people were looking to cut costs from everywhere possible. These circumstances led to a situation of austerity.
Lutz, who is the director of the Bundesliga club, views this as an opportunity to reevaluate the core values of football and right the wrongs.
Now, as the pandemic is losing its strength, the overall economy is starting to recover.
The football industry spends millions of dollars on popular players like Pogba, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Jadon Sancho. An Amsterdamsche Football Club called Ajax has an advantage in this situation. This club is known to focus on the development of youngsters.
Edwin van der Sar is confident that this practice can earn them a lot of profits, but this might not be the case.
If the domestic season ends behind closed doors, the income of the players is projected to decline by $7.23 billion. If the seasons are canceled for whatever reason, this figure can worsen the decline by $10.95 billion.
In April, the manager of Manchester United said that his club can exploit smaller clubs, for which he was criticized. This meant that a gap would be created and smaller groups would have to surrender at a price lower than their worth because of their vulnerable position.
However, the Ajax club is not willing to give up its players for such cheap prices.
With millions of people losing jobs and thousands of deaths, it has been tough for everyone to cope with the current situation.
This time when all activities are brought to a halt, could be an ideal opportunity for the football giants to step back, reassess their core principles, and make ethical changes in the industry.
