In England they don’t explain it: how does a good player — not a super talent — like Moisés Caicedo cost $144.6 million…? (That’s the official figure recorded by Chelsea). The most expensive signing in England history is for a defensive midfielder. A ball stealer who in the 2022-2023 season, the only one in which he played as a full-time player for Brighton, scored 1 goal and provided 1 assist in 43 appearances. A footballer who does not specialize in creation, does not offer a header for aerial play, does not stand out with his shot – that is why they do not entrust him with calm balls -; nor is he a dribbler who breaks lines and creates imbalance. Also, he was never a champion. Enables good management and distribution in the front line of the midfield. Nor does anyone understand that Arsenal paid 127 million for Declan Rice, a proper incisive midfielder, with less handling than Caicedo, albeit with more leadership and travel, more vertical, and who recorded 5 goals and 3 assists in his final season at West Ham United.

It is no less surprising that Arsenal themselves pay 81.52 million for Kai Havertz, the iceberg; With good technique, yes. Football is inflated, exaggerated, but even so, the values ​​are completely incomprehensible. Even the 131.52 million that Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernández seems excessive, although it is worth saying that Enzo is an artist with the ball and was a world champion (and number one) with Argentina, in addition to winning five other major titles with defense and Pravda, River and Benfica. He even managed to collect 10 goals and 6 assists in just 28 league games in 2021 with Rivera. All at the age of 22.

It already seemed crazy that last year Manchester United paid $77 million for Casemiro, a 30-year-old midfielder who has recovered. But Casemiro is Casemiro, the leader, the multiple champion, a key part of Madrid winning the Champions League. And a flyer who often scores.

The Premier League is the richest league in the world, OK; but, attention, it is not only the prime minister. Paris Saint-Germain paid $65.22 million for Manuel Ugarte, an almost unknown Uruguayan midfielder who scored one goal in 85 games for Sporting Lisbon. We could cite many similar cases where no relationship was found between performance and selling price.

How much is Vinícius worth then…? A machine for tackling and imbalance, for scoring and preparing goals, that brings the Bernabéa to its knees, that shines in the Champions League and excels in Brazil. Five hundred million…? Improve…? How much should Liverpool ask for Luis Díaz, a fast striker, dribbler, scorer, assist…? What would be the price of Haaland, who in his first season in Manchester City, at the age of 22, scored 52 goals, 9 assists and won the biggest possible treble for an English club: league, cup and championship…? Would a billion be fine for Haaland…? Or is it a little…? These are the ones who win matches and championships.

Why astronomical figures in transfers…? The first explanation is that there is too much money in football. For example: Inter collected 12 million euros from the box office alone in the semi-final of the Champions League against Milan, playing at home at Giusseppe Meazzi. Apple paid MLS, a young but very promising league, $2.5 billion over ten years in exchange for exclusive TV rights, plus an interesting percentage for each subscriber. Adidas’ latest contract with Real Madrid for its jersey is around 1,600 million euros for ten seasons. Club shops, their museums, VIP tickets, television rights, tournament participation awards and additional revenue amounts have soared to levels unimagined a decade ago. Russian magnate Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 for 178 million dollars, and sold it (forced by the British government) in 2022 for 5.312 million, exactly thirty times more.

In addition, many hypermillionaires, businessmen, sheikhs who seek visibility through the strong resonance that this sport guarantees, approach football. Even governments – such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar or China – invest in the number five as a launching pad for geopolitical purposes. There is what never was.

This leads to a key point: demand far exceeds supply. There are many buyers and few declines. For this reason, any good item, just that one, trades above a hundred million. The Premier League is awash with money on all four sides and clubs are spending with gusto; But what makes this moment different from past decades is that it’s not just four or five big clubs that are signing: they’re all coming out and loading their carts. The new rich Newcastle spent 131.52 million in just three reinforcements, not counting the ton they paid in the last transfer book. In addition to Arsenal and Chelsea, Manchester, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, Aston Villa also have strong signings (they kept Pau Torres from Villarreal for 35.87 million and closed the promising Nicolò Zaniol). West Ham also score with passes of that range.

There are million dollar transfers in Spain (Madrid paid 131 million for Bellingham), Italy, Germany (Bayern took Harry Kane for 108.69), France, Turkey, Portugal… Qatar is another rich market that is still restless and wants numbers for his home tournament. Al Sadd, who already signed Mateus Uribe, paid $13 million for Gonzalo Plata. And a worn-out Coutinho is about to leave Aston Villa for the host country of the last World Cup.

And two emerging markets of great economic power. The relatively new North American MLS, no longer the destination for veterans it was fifty years ago, employs youngsters worth between $7 million and $15 million and has already supplanted the Mexican league as the top destination for Latin Americans. The Major League took away the number one in the world, Messi, and with him Busquets and Jordi Alba. The shock caused by Messi will surely encourage clubs to continue betting on stars.

And, of course, a brand new ultra-million-dollar Asian destination: Saudi Arabia. In January, they tied with Cristiano Ronaldo as the leader, and from June until now in August, they have caught another 29 players in Europe. Real discharge: Neymar, Benzema, Kanté, Mahrez, Kessié, Firmino, Mané, Bono, Henderson, Milinković-Savic, Brozović, Koulibaly, Malcom, Rubén Neves, of course Cristiano, are the names that continue to make noise and would offer impact and poster at European tournaments.

Has football gone mad…? Who knows. There are a lot of strange jobs, cheeky commissions that are shared between national team members and sports directors; but, above all, too much money, and not producing the amount of talent that would be needed. (OR)