Why Are Football Transfer Fees Getting So Expensive?
How the Transfer Market Has Outgrown the Players Themselves
Jiho Oh
The changes which have taken place in football’s transfer market during the decades of its existence can be categorized as monumental ones. It used to be considered that only those players who proved they were among the extremely talented could be bought for record money. However, these days clubs do not hesitate to pay more than £100 million for young players who have not fully demonstrated their talent. Accordingly, one might wonder whether transfer fees really reflect players’ potential or maybe there are other factors affecting the determination of modern transfer fees.
The further analysis of the past gives evidence of the fact that as time passes this situation becomes rather noticeable. For instance, back in 1996, the club of Newcastle United bought Alan Shearer for £15 million although he was already among the most renowned strikers. It is worth mentioning that back then this transfer fee was a world record. However, today this amount of money would be considered not particularly remarkable in terms of buying a professional player at a high level.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/18093014/top-ten-highest-pl-transfers-inflation/
The case of Elliot Anderson shows how contemporary transfer fees can go beyond the player’s current abilities. Anderson has risen to the important position of a Premier League midfielder, but the reported transfer fee of £116 million reflects much more than what the player has accomplished so far. Age, potential, and experience allowed his worth to grow. Essentially, Manchester City is paying for the person that Anderson is today and who the club thinks he will become in the future. Yan Diomande is another, even more convincing illustration of this case. Diomande’s age does not allow comparing his experience with that of famous footballers, but despite this, Real Madrid was willing to buy him for a great deal of money. This transfer indicates the tendency for clubs to use younger players. It is possible for a player with potential to be better for a team than a successfully playing veteran without a chance of improvement.
The growth of the football money industry has also been a reason for these prices. Teams profit from TV channels, sponsorships, and sales of their merchandise. Therefore, financially stable teams can just take part in battles to get one player from among several teams and raise his price. If there are more than several teams wanting to buy the player, the club that sells the player has a better bargaining position. The price of the player rises not because he became better than he used to be but because there is a tougher competition for him. Yet another crucial aspect influencing recruitment relates to the tendency of clubs to pay particular attention to the perspectives of a player. There are numerous instances in which clubs are prepared to pay a lot of money for a young player being sure that he has a bright future ahead and will be sold for even more money in the future. This approach makes recruitment look like an investment process.
Nonetheless, it is necessary to mention that transfer fees cannot be determined only by the player's talents or their performance. A number of factors helps in evaluating what a player should cost, among them are their age, the time that is left until the contract ends, player’s role in the team, successful and prospective player sometimes, fan attraction ability of the player, and tactical fit. Therefore, when people hear the news about current transfers they may find it hard to compare them with past transfers because of the impact inflation has and the rapid changes that take place in the football economy.
At the end of the day, modern transfer fees do not merely indicate how skilled a football player is. Transfer fees indicate how much commercial potential there is in a player today as well as how rich and powerful clubs have become through tough competition. A £100 million footballer is not necessarily ten times better than a £10 million player. Today the transfer market is about much more than the actual player.
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