Friday, January 16, 2015

Money Money Money

Capitalism distorts everything in modern society. Fine arts are judged by the prices they can command, sport is  evaluated by transfer fees and salaries. Reading a football report today is like studying double-entry book-keeping. Speculation about the possible transfer of Lionel Messi of Barcelona is a case in point. 'Messi's buyout clause from Barcelona is £250 million. He has more than three years left on a contract that is worth £16.3 million a year. Taking the salary and transfer fee together, then, the overall cost of any deal could be well in excess of a quarter of a billion pounds.' (Times, 14 January) To show how crazy some of these deals have become it is reported that Manchester United have a ten-year kit deal with Addidas worth £750 million. RD

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