Once the Olympics are archived, the head of the world, including finance, is back in the ballpark. Company accounts are shaking, starting with the Inter championship which, far from strengthening, has to give up the strong points, from Hakimi to Lukaku (that's not all). And while the Suning-branded management is heading to a sad epilogue, the Chinese-owned Pirelli renounces the brand on the team's jerseys: next year the sponsor will be Socior.com, a cryptocurrency platform. “It's a sign of the times – Ben Pincus, one of the organizers of Formula 1, told the Financial Times -. With the pandemic, virtual currencies have done excellent business, football is on its knees ”. And so i token, tokens issued on blockchains, take the place of the Panini stickers, with a very different speculative charge. Atletico Madrid's tokens shot up to 50 euros last May after winning the Scudetto after purchases for 300 million: today they are worth 20 percent less.
There is an air of frond in Italian football, divided on the question of the Superlega but also on the no to the offers of the private equity CVC. But there is an air of war in the Spanish Liga, invested by the agreement with the British CVC fund: 2,7 billion euros for 10 percent of the body that associates the 42 clubs of A and B. The fund thus ensures the right to commercialize TV rights for the next three years. False, Real Madrid thunders: CVC, with a deliberately hermetic contract, has put a mortgage on football for the next 50 years. "Today bread, tomorrow hunger", summarizes Florentino Perez, the undisputed master of the Galacticos who is already moving his pawns (Telefonica in the lead) and, for the first time in his life, in agreement with the Blaugrana of Barcelona, obliged to renounce the renewal of Messi's contract (although discounted by 50%) due to the rules imposed by La Liga in relation to the sidereal debt: 1,173 billion euros, of which 730 million in the short term.
And so today, after the transfer of Lukaku, the real big tear in the relationship between money, financial rules and sporting passion is taking place. Today at Le Bourget airport, welcomed by security measures befitting a head of state, Leo Messi, the Argentine Pulga who left Barcelona in tears (“mas que un club”) after 672 goals and 35 titles in 21 years. Under the Eiffel Tower, the president of the PSG awaits him, Nasser Al Khelaifi, the strong man of Qatar's sport: a former tennis player, former director of sport for Al Jazeera, number one in the sovereign wealth fund of the emirate which owns shares everywhere, from Barclay's to Volkswagen, as well as hotels and palaces, such as Gallia or Porta Nuova in the heart of Milan. It will be Al Khelaifi, minister without portfolio in the emir's government, who will submit the new contract to the most famous footballer on the planet: 40 million euros a year for the next four years, more than the many other stars of the Parisian club.
However, only a part of what will actually enter the player's pocket, judging by the past: from 2017 to 2021, as reported by Marca, Messi earned 555,24 million, the equivalent of 139 million gross per season. Figures that are justified in the face of social numbers: over 100 million followers on Facebook, 245 million on Instagram. But that's not all: "With that face of a good boy and good father of a family - writes in Le Monde the CEO of Sportsora Magali Tezenas de Montcell - Messi is ideal for sponsors but also to grow the appeal of PSG". Despite the huge investments from 2011 onwards, in fact, the Parisian club is only in place number 43 in the ranking by value.
Will the flea be able to bring the club up in the ranking of sympathy? Difficult in France, where well the concentration of stars from Neymar Mbappé Messi trio it will be a boon for TV rights after a dramatic year. Definitely not among the Milan supporters snatched by the greed of Gigio Donnarumma's agent. More generally, one has the feeling of being on the eve of a dramatic turning point for toy football in view of the goal of the Qatari invaders who, between PSG and Manchester City, have upset the hierarchies on the eve of the World Cup which will be held in a year from late autumn. Indeed, intolerance is growing at the constant violation of the rules on financial fair play by the Parisian club, the most important supporter of the current UEFA summit, which defends its teeth the privilege of being an actor and arbiter in the major decisions of the sector.
In short, football is heading towards a crucial season in full financial instability. But the disorder under the skies, Mao taught, is often an opportunity for good business, a feeling that explains the interest of CVC, Bin and the other financial protagonists who, following JP Morgan, try to score the goal of century, Messi permitting.
