Transfer Bans For All

Ben Wilkinson calls for a transfer ban on all big money spending club.

A transfer ban should be issued to every big spending club, no matter where they are in the league.

PSG and Bayern Munich are the biggest clubs in their countries league as well as European football. However because English football fans don’t tend to watch ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, they don’t tend to realise the club domination in those leagues. PSG have won ligue 1 for the past three seasons and have won the coupe de France 9 times. Bayern Munich similarly have won their league for the past three seasons. This is obvious superiority and this needs to stop.

How does Uefa stop this? Financial fair play was introduced by Uefa to prevent clubs that qualify for its competitions from spending beyond their means and stamp out what their president Michael Platini called “financial doping” within football. He explains that big companies throwing millions of dollars into football clubs is ruining the game and it is for reasons like spending millions on players in one transfer window that ruins leagues, because of the lack of financial support, to clubs lower down in the leagues. Leagues like ligue 1 and the Bundesliga become monotonous which leads to less publicity.

However, in some scenarios like Leicester city in the Premier League they are the underdogs that have overcome critics and are now intimidating big teams in England’s top division. This inspirational Leicester team are becoming a real force and it will only get better. Even if Leicester don’t win the league, the amount of tv licensing money they will get from playing European football, will undoubtedly boost their transfer budget and dispense that money on quality signings that will boost the morale of the squad as well as adding to their squad depth.

This prodigious Leicester team are new and exciting but this doesn’t necessitate on the teams that are dominating their leagues. Furthermore, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid were given a transfer ban so they have been punished by world governing body Fifa for breaching rules over the transfer of minors – both clubs say they will appeal. This means that Real Madrid could not pursue with the transfer for Manchester United’s David de Gea because he could only play for them until the start of the 17/18 Liga BBVA season.

Despite the fact that teams have been criticized for as well as buying high profile players at extravagant prices, there should be a ban on all clubs that have bought players that are just there as a squad rotation option. This may sound diminutive but this sort strategy ruins players’ careers. Fabian Delph has destroyed the rest of his career by accepting a contract from Manchester City in the summer transfer window. He has only played ten games in the last of Manchester city’s 36 games played so far. However he has been out with injury since Man city’s pre-season friendly against Real Madrid in July 2015, but seeing that he was worth £8 million plus add on fees, he surely must be an important part of the team.

This hopefully is the start for Uefa turning the heat on clubs such as PSG, Bayern Munich and Manchester city on spending money that doesn’t protect the minors of their respectable leagues.