The summer ticket market in Europe promises to be the most spectacular in history, in terms of the number of transfers and the amount of money. Declan Rice will only have to travel 17 minutes between Stratford and Holloway, two London boroughs. Arsenal are paying West Ham £117 million (plus 5 in variables) for the 24-year-old midfielder to make the move and wear their shirt. It is currently the most expensive pass.

Jude Bellingham, 19 years old, went from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for 103 + 31 million. 31 is for goals. Example: if he wins the league, 5 million more; if they win the Champions League, 10 more; if he scores X goals, the same; after completing 100 games, another bonus. Clauses that the seller puts in order to generate additional profit and that the buyer accepts, because if the player achieves such achievements it will be worth paying.

In football where defensive systems show so much evolution and in which eleven are defended, the one who manages to break through the defense is a precious stone. A good example is Luis Díaz. He moved from Porto to Liverpool for €47 million, has stood out and is now listed at €75 despite spending six months in hospital with a knee injury.

The modesty imposed by the pandemic is definitely behind us, now everyone is going shopping. The vast majority of European clubs have great economic power. A lot of money is earned from the box office (Inter earned 12 million euros in the home match against Milan in the semi-finals of the Champions League), from sponsorships, marketing, social contributions for civil societies and from prizes at competitions. UEFA pays 15.64 million just to participate in the Champions League, plus 2.8 million euros for each win in addition to the prizes for progressing to the stage, plus the coefficient, plus proportional television. Arsenal only amortizes Rice’s signing with what they get for entering the Champions League. And clubs that do not belong to their members have big companies or ultra-millionaires behind them, as happens with almost all English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Turkish.

If there were more cracks available, more transmission would occur. Super scorer Erling Haaland needs to be hired, but City won’t let him go, doubling his salary if necessary to keep him. This is why renovations have become the highest point of sports management. Mbappé is a witness case. It is the most desirable pearl that can be achieved, three Declan Rices combined. Kylian has one more year left on his contract with Paris Saint Germain, until June 30, 2024, and one more year, optional in his favor. He didn’t say “I want to go”. He simply said he would not pick up the option for 2024-2025. This caused an uproar in Paris and Qatar because then PSG have two options left: either use him for another year and then the shooter is free or sell him immediately and return the 180 million euros they paid for him to Monaco in June 2017. Or even more, because Kiki valued herself. Madrid would gladly pay 220. And Liverpool, rumor has it, would offer a dizzying 300.

Despite winning the triple titles (League, Cup and Champions League) and despite a large salary, City was left without captain Ilkay Gundogan who did not agree to a renewal and went to Barcelona. Because he leaves with his pass.

Football is inflated and at a level of popularity that has not been seen before. There are more and more tournaments, and the ones that were already getting bigger, TV broadcasts even First D matches, companies are turning to activities, and the exponential growth of women’s soccer has doubled the clientele. Just a photo of the stands is enough, there are almost as many women as men. So there are hundreds of millions of other consumers. Football gives visibility and prestige. Roman Abramovich was a Forbes tycoon, but even his aunt didn’t know he existed until he bought Chelsea, which became his favorite toy. He received kings, presidents, leaders, businessmen, celebrities in his box, and in his office Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Carlo Ancelotti sat down to sign the contract… It was a big job for him too: he bought it for 162 million dollars and sold for 5,312.

Price inflation is influenced by various factors. The wealth of the clubs or their owners, the phenomenon of television and sponsorships, marketing and the fact that there are many new markets eager for cracks. Last, Saudi Arabia and the North American MLS. Cristiano Ronaldo was a pioneer in reaching the Saudi kingdom, earning 200 million euros a year, now he is being followed en masse because the incomes they offer are stratospheric. Karim Benzema (36 years old in December) signed for three seasons for Al Ittihad from Saudi Arabia. Between salary and commercial contracts, he will receive 196 million euros per year, a total of 588 million euros. How could a footballer, artist or professional refuse such a proposal…?

What is needed are the stars. That’s why Lionel Messi threw the United States league off the skyscrapers. As the best player in history, despite his 36 years, financial engineering had to be devised. Messi will formally receive a salary of 50 million euros per year, but will be a partner of Adidas in the sale of jerseys, will take a percentage of television viewing of matches and will be able to agree to buy the American club at the end of his career. The question is how much the same Messi, Maradona or Pelé would cost today, at the age of 22… (OR)