Is Money Ruining Football?
Ah, the Premier League - a veritable cornucopia of footballing quality.
It's hailed worldwide as the most competitive division (as illustrated by last season's exhilarating/soul-destroying title race) and, as a result, attracts many supporters of various persuasions.
This mass following is likely to bring incredible amounts of money to the institutions that purvey it - Manchester United, the highest English earners, collected €711.5 million (£606.9 million) for the 2018/19 season, according to the Deloitte Money League (only slightly less than FC Barcelona of La Liga, with €840.8 million (£717.02 million)).
Deloitte Football Money League 2020 - Top 10 Ranked Clubs (Deloitte)
As expected, fans anticipate substantial portions of any profits should be spent on transferring players in, in order to bolster squads, and transfer windows (June-August and January) are the opportunities to do this.
We're in the midst of one currently - and while the post-Neymar-inflation prices don't usually get bandied around with the same readiness in the winter, small fortunes are still being considered for mediocre players, and I believe it is time for the eternal question - is money ruining football?
Well, is it?
There's plenty of evidence pointing to the affirmative - the richest clubs will naturally prefer to bring in foreign imports for an instant impact (and hefty sums of money), but this prevents any homegrown potential world-beaters that have graduated from their respective academies from breaking through.
It's only on the books of other teams do most clubs realise what they're missing out on - a prominent case being Jadon Sancho. Formerly of Manchester City, the English starlet moved to Borussia Dortmund (a club known for their strong youth development) and has since shone, becoming the first player this season to register 10 goals and 10 assists.
Additionally, Barça's La Masia (having nurtured the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Messi) has very much stagnated in recent years with the board preferring to spend upwards of £120 million on Ousmane Dembélé, for example, instead of promoting a youth player and saving such a sum.
Ousmane Dembélé in action for Barça
The other side
In any case, it is the other extreme that often causes issues - the lack of funds.
Bury F.C. were eventually removed from the EFL after being unable to repay ~£7m in debt, and Aston Villa were on the verge of liquidation in 2018 after losing the Championship Play-Off Final to Fulham - despite boasting the division's most expensive squad - before new billionaire ownership saved them.
This summer, like Fulham before them, they spent upwards of £100 million to uphaul the roster after winning the Play-Offs but now face a relegation battle.
Overall, football's immense popularity has brought obscene amounts of wealth into the game; alienating the ordinary world. But it has to be admitted that the standard these days is like nothing ever seen before - Liverpool have dropped only two league points this season after spending intelligently for three years, and Manchester City (who famously spent more on their defence in 2017 than North Korea) have won an incredible 6 trophies in two years - including two consecutive league titles.
If you divide every price tag you see in football by £1000000, perhaps you can really appreciate its innate ability to rouse and entertain us week in, week out.