When AC Milan broke the world transfer record in the summer of 1992 by paying approximately €15.2 million for Torino winger Gianluigi Lentini, the Vatican labelled the sum "an offence to the dignity of work". Of course, for the Catholic Church of the time to take such a moralistic stance has transpired to be the height of hypocrisy but there was no denying that the fee was outrageous, as were the circumstances surrounding the deal.
Lentini's San Siro switch represented the third time that the transfer record had been broken that summer, with Milan having acquired Jean-Pierre Papin from Marseille before Juventus responded by signing Sampdoria striker Gianluca Vialli. The two bitter rivals then became locked in a bidding war for Lentini. It was little more than a billionaire p***ing contest which ridiculously saw a talented but unproven 23-year-old become the most expensive player of all time. Football, it seemed, had spiralled out of control.
The spending, however, has only become more reckless and offensive over the past 24 years. The beautiful game is uglier than ever before.
Shortly after midnight on Monday, Manchester United confirmed that they had reached an agreement with Juventus to re-sign Paul Pogba for a fee of €105m. From a footballing and financial perspective, there are grounds for justifying such an exorbitant fee. Pogba is one of the finest midfielders in the world and he has his peak years ahead of him. He is also among the most marketable young sportsmen on the planet and will generate millions in merchandise sales and commercial deals. He will likely make most of the money back without having to win a trophy.
But on a purely human level, it is impossible to defend this deal - particularly in the current economic and political climate. Arsene Wenger was right when he argued that the Pogba deal "is completely crazy if you compare it to normal life". Jose Mourinho immediately retorted that it was "not ethical" for other managers to be critical of other clubs’ spending, which, on one level, was amusing, given there is no place in an ethical debate for a man who eye-gouged a fellow coach and helped drive an innocent referee and a skilled medical professional out of the game. Furthermore, just as United are free to pay over €105m for one player and Juve €90m for another in the shape of Gonzalo Higuain, the rest of us have the right to comment on disturbingly high transfer fees.
Indeed, the fact United, Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain can afford to pay such sums doesn't make it right. Football has long existed within its own bubble; it is not, as Wenger noted, "normal life". However, the sport is now becoming ever more detached from reality and that should concern everyone involved.
We presently reside in a world of great financial and social instability. Greece, for example, remains on the verge of economic collapse, with an unemployment rate of just under 25 per cent and just under half of their 14-28-year-olds neither in employment nor education. Youth unemployment in France has hovered at around 25% since the 2008 financial crisis, according to Eurostat. There is widespread uncertainty across the continent following the United Kingdom's decision to withdraw from the European Union, with the British pound immediately losing around 12% of its value. Millions of asylum seekers live in abject poverty and a constant state of fear, while racial tensions in the United States are at their highest for 50 years. In such circumstances, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the average man to relate to those running and playing the game we love - and therein lies the danger of complete collapse.
In one of the seminal scenes in Robert De Niro’s criminally underrated 'A Bronx Tale', local mafia kingpin Sonny LoSpecchio asks the nine-year-old Calogero Anello why he is so invested in the fortunes of the New York Yankees, and superstar centre fielder Mickey Mantle in particular.
"Mickey Mantle makes a $100,000 a year - how much does your father make?" LoSpecchio enquires. "You see if your father can't pay the rent, go ask Mickey Mantle and see what he tells you. Mickey Mantle doesn't care about you - so why should you care about him? Nobody cares."
Calogero admits: “I never thought the same way about the Yankees again.”
This is the perilous position in which football now finds itself: on the verge of alienating the very people that fund the whole enterprise. And it has been a long time coming.
In 1998, former Newcastle United chairman Freddy Shepherd was infamously caught on camera mocking Magpies fans for, among other things, spending obscene amounts of money on club merchandise. Six years later, the same man addressed the financial problems facing clubs in the lower leagues, telling the Dubai Soccerex international football forum: "When we have got 52,000 fans at each home game, the last thing we are worried about is clubs in the third division." It is unfair to single out Shepherd, of course, given his views are commonplace.
The Premier League itself is a product of the avarice of England's elite. The creation of the Champions League was fuelled by the same desire for profit, only on a grander scale. The recently proposed European Super League is the logical next step.
In such a climate of pure capitalism, it is no wonder that the principal protagonists of this latest addition to the entertainment industry have become increasingly preoccupied with getting their 'fair share'. As Benoit Assou-Ekotto admitted in a tremendously insightful interview with the Guardian in 2010, he is solely motivated by financial gain. The former Tottenham full-back quite justifiably views football as his profession (in his defence, he added: "When I’m at work, I give 100 per cent"). Acutely aware that his career will not extend much beyond 15 years even if he manages to avoid serious injury, his primary focus is on making as much money as possible during that time.
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He also pointed out that he was by no means alone in viewing transfer opportunities in nothing other than monetary terms, revealing that he was appalled by two-faced team-mates who publicly stated their love of a club while at the same time privately revealing a willingness to leave for a rival if their contractual demands were not satisfied.
Assou-Ekotto’s refreshingly honest words, like those of Sonny, brutally exposed the mercenary-like nature of the professional sportsman. Pogba spoke this week of returning "home" to his first "family" but the truth is that he left Juventus because his agent wanted him to. Mino Raiola stands to make €35m on the deal. Pogba will also pocket a small fortune – just like Higuain, thanks to his transfer from Napoli to Juventus.
As one-club man Francesco Totti said of the Argentine’s transfer from Napoli to Juventus: "Modern players are a bit like nomads. They are following the money, not their heart. Not many athletes follow their heart. Football has changed a lot; it is all about money now. Players change teams all the time, to make a bit more money elsewhere. It's more about money than about passion. People go to the stadiums to enjoy themselves and to see players in action who will always be with their team. They expect not to be betrayed. But just look at what happened with Higuain, leaving Napoli for [bitter rivals] Juventus. It's a disaster."
Such moves will have far-reaching consequences, as they merely serve to highlight the absurdity of forming any sort of attachment with multimillionaire stars. Yet some fans will not only defend but idolise players found guilty of behaviour that would result in instant dismissal in any other profession; from rape to racism, anything can be excused so long as the player performs well in the shirt. In this regard, we are just as culpable, having been willing participants in the creation of an environment in which players can be placed above the laws, ethics and morals by which we are all held accountable. After all, it is we who ultimately pay their wages by buying overpriced season tickets, purchasing multiple satellite TV subscriptions and acquiring each and every strip a club produces.
Admittedly, if you’re reading this article, on a dedicated football website, it can be safely assumed that you love the game - and love, by definition, is irrational. It is based on emotions that are difficult to put into words let alone define or understand. But we are united by a collective sense of belonging based on our support of a certain nation, club or merely 'the beautiful game' itself.
However, we must accept that for many of those involved in football today, it is not about a love of the game. Football is not, as Danny Blanchflower would have liked, about glory - it is about money. Thus, the gap between those within the game and those that support it is larger than ever before. This is neither a healthy nor sustainable relationship: it is one-sided and exploitative, and consequently, on the verge of collapse. Indeed, there is now a very real danger that unless something is done, unless the powers that be successfully manage to increase the influence of fans in the running of clubs, to give supporters a greater sense of attachment, the game will implode.
At the end of 'A Bronx Tale', Calogero realises that Sonny was wrong about one thing: his assertion that "nobody cares". People still care. People still love football - but they are becoming detached and, soon, disillusionment will give way to indifference.
Encouragingly, we have already seen the first signs of unrest, the first signs of supporters standing up for themselves by boycotting games in Germany, England and elsewhere over ticket prices. However, change will only be possible if everyone comes together to demand widespread reform because if the greed that is currently destroying the game goes unchecked, it will only be a matter of time before we, like Calogero, stop caring not only about our teams, but the game itself.
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