Neymar to PSG - The Most expensive player ever - Deal worth £450million

[lewis]

Surely the start of the end for football unless something is changed/done about it?
total value of the deal is worth nearly £450m (€500m), which includes wages, bonuses and a buyout clause of £198m (€222m). Neymar has been offered a basic salary of £26.8m-a-year (€30m) after tax, around £515,000-a-week after tax!!

 

[SD83]

So the total value of the deal is approximately what Mayweather earned in ten rounds last night? I'm totally with you in that those numbers are insane, but football is not even the worst.
I'm not a big football fan, I got no team that I root for or anything, but it's fun to play and I bet it's fun to watch. With hundreds or thousands of like minded people in the stadium. I'd imagine its a bit like a concert of your favourite band. But why people would pay to watch it at home is beyond me. Or why they pay 100€ or so for a simple jersey. 150€ or worse for a pair of shoes. Seriously, I don't see the problem with players being payed insane sums of money. If the fans are mad enough to pay those sums, so be it.

 

[CerealKiller]

But why people would pay to watch it at home is beyond me. Or why they pay 100€ or so for a simple jersey. 150€ or worse for a pair of shoes. Seriously, I don't see the problem with players being payed insane sums of money. If the fans are mad enough to pay those sums, so be it.

Why would people watch football at home? You get a much better view of the match, than at the actual stadium. Sure, you don't get the atmosphere, but you can actually see what's going on, you don't have to travel, you don't have to sit on a plastic seat in the rain, freezing, and it is a lot cheaper.

Regarding the massive fees nowadays, I think it's a problem. A large percentage of the money goes to agents (and is thus never reinvested in the sport), and, with the exception of PSG, the whole thing is basically funded by fans through insane broadcasting deals and ticket prices on the rise. Used to be the working man's game, not so much anymore.

 

[SD83]

The fees are the point. To be honest, I've never been to any match outside the village where I grew up, though I enjoy watching the World Cup. At home, in a bar with friends, if it's a good match, great. But pay for it? Everything in the stadium down to the players socks is covered with ads, the half time break is more than 50% commercials. That's like watching a live stream of a band you like, but instead of their own backdrop they have a bunch of brands at display and the logos of their sponsors fixed to every possible part of their outfit.

Used to be the working man's game, not so much anymore.

Pretty much sums it up. The higher levels are just money, and, at least where I live, the lower levels are, at least in some towns, notoriously violent, on the fields and the ranks and wherever those idiots get hold of each other. Still damn good fun to play