The Silly Season - World Soccer Transfer Time

[reds1869]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

Not really transfer related, but I saw an article about Setanta having problems with speculation that ESPN might be interested in picking up their EPL rights. Could mean more English soccer on TV for us. Of course I'd like to see some German, Spanish and French soccer too, but I won't complain about more soccer on TV.

I would be thrilled if ESPN picked up EPL matches. I had to give up Setanta when I switched to cable from Dish (it was MLB Network vs. Setanta, and MLB won in my heart). I have been less than thrilled with Setanta Broadband. Half their rugby and a lot of their soccer are blacked out due to territorial restrictions and the picture quality is horrendous. They also keep charging my debit card even though I've canceled via email (the only way they will let you do so) like five million times to try and drive the point across! So a move to ESPN would be welcomed. Premiership in HD, yummy!

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by M2

And Man U has now confirmed Cristiano Ronaldo will be heading to Real Madrid for an $80M transfer. Cue the nefarious Darth Vader music. The rebel alliance in Barcelona will be crushed by the new Death Star.

Watching Sky Sports, you have to love the American reporter trying to get a comment from Ronaldo while he's on vacation in L.A., "Any comment on your transfer to 'Royale' Madrid?"

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by M2

As a Real Madrid fan, I'm not convinced that throwing money around like crazy gets the job done. Yet if Kaka, Ronaldo and David Villa come through the door, it should be fascinating to watch.

One question I have is, where is all this money coming from? Reports indicate the ownership groups of some of the powerhouses of the EPL are struggling under massive debt and it seems like it's only getting tougher with the global recession. Is Madrid financially sound enough to toss all this money around without having to worry about having debts called in? While its fascinating to watch the transfer market, I wonder whether we're going to see a major European team suffer a severe financial crisis resulting in a crash in the transfer market. It seems a common practice to fund these transfers by selling off other players, but I imagine if a few teams had to engage in a major selloff to make debt payments, it would sink the transfer market.

[reds1869]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

One question I have is, where is all this money coming from? Reports indicate the ownership groups of some of the powerhouses of the EPL are struggling under massive debt and it seems like it's only getting tougher with the global recession. Is Madrid financially sound enough to toss all this money around without having to worry about having debts called in? While its fascinating to watch the transfer market, I wonder whether we're going to see a major European team suffer a severe financial crisis resulting in a crash in the transfer market. It seems a common practice to fund these transfers by selling off other players, but I imagine if a few teams had to engage in a major selloff to make debt payments, it would sink the transfer market.

I suspect Real has a big enough pile of cash lying about to fund three Premiership operations.

[M2]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

One question I have is, where is all this money coming from?

Remember how in pirate movies they were always after Spanish dubloons? Well, there's a big pile of them in the tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella and Real uses it to buy soccer players.

Honestly, Real seems to have an endless supply of money and no one's ever quite sure where it comes from.

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by M2

Remember how in pirate movies they were always after Spanish dubloons? Well, there's a big pile of them in the tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella and Real uses it to buy soccer players.

Honestly, Real seems to have an endless supply of money and no one's ever quite sure where it comes from.

Ha! Maybe the MLS should send Mikey, Chunk and the rest of Goonies out to find One-eyed Willy's treasure so they can have some dubloons of their own to buy soccer players.

[ochre]

sounds like real is working on developing a solid prima dona quotient...

[NJReds]

Originally Posted by ochre

sounds like real is working on developing a solid prima dona quotient...

And a world class diving team.

[M2]

BTW, Sunderland scored a coup in nabbing Steve Bruce as manager.

[reds1869]

Originally Posted by NJReds

And a world class diving team.

Secret Italian training video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccDyp2aRRCg

[Joseph]

So they sold this guy for 131 million? Is that how that works?

Really?

In this economy?

Hell in ANY economy?

[reds1869]

Originally Posted by Joseph

So they sold this guy for 131 million? Is that how that works?

Really?

In this economy?

Hell in ANY economy?

Real has insane amounts of money, just like many pro sports franchises--including those in America who are using the economy as an excuse to cut corners. I don't have any proof, but I would almost lay money on the fact that Real's revenue stream has increased even in this economic situation. They continue to expand their global marketing and rake in the cash.

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by reds1869

Real has insane amounts of money, just like many pro sports franchises--including those in America who are using the economy as an excuse to cut corners. I don't have any proof, but I would almost lay money on the fact that Real's revenue stream has increased even in this economic situation. They continue to expand their global marketing and rake in the cash.

Every sports team has a limited revenue stream. Just as with other teams, I suspect that much of Real's revenue is based on revenues from TV and other media. The stability of those revenue streams could well depend on the diversity of a team's media contracts. If a team's media partner highly leveraged itself in order to pay for the team's broadcast rights, it could find itself in a position where it can't pay its debts and goes into receivership. The rights could then be auctioned off at a discount rate, resulting in less revenue for the team, putting in a position where it can't pay its debts. Then the dominoes begin to fall.

Is that Real's situation, I have no idea. Leagues like the MLB, NFL, NBA, and the EPL have their media contracts split among numerous media outlets. If one outlet has financial difficulties, the league and its teams still have other resources. I don't know that La Liga or Real Madrid have the same setup. I just know that I can't watch La Liga, which is kind of surprising considering Real Madrid markets itself as a worldwide brand. It's kind of surprising and disappointing, because I'd really like to watch some Real Madrid games this coming season. You would think that they would have a deal with an accessible English language outlet in the US similar to the EPL and Serie A.

[ochre]

la liga is on gol tv a lot (I have directv).

[reds1869]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

Every sports team has a limited revenue stream. Just as with other teams, I suspect that much of Real's revenue is based on revenues from TV and other media. The stability of those revenue streams could well depend on the diversity of a team's media contracts. If a team's media partner highly leveraged itself in order to pay for the team's broadcast rights, it could find itself in a position where it can't pay its debts and goes into receivership. The rights could then be auctioned off at a discount rate, resulting in less revenue for the team, putting in a position where it can't pay its debts. Then the dominoes begin to fall.

Is that Real's situation, I have no idea. Leagues like the MLB, NFL, NBA, and the EPL have their media contracts split among numerous media outlets. If one outlet has financial difficulties, the league and its teams still have other resources. I don't know that La Liga or Real Madrid have the same setup. I just know that I can't watch La Liga, which is kind of surprising considering Real Madrid markets itself as a worldwide brand. It's kind of surprising and disappointing, because I'd really like to watch some Real Madrid games this coming season. You would think that they would have a deal with an accessible English language outlet in the US similar to the EPL and Serie A.

Here are a couple of links about their finances, and why they can afford to do what they are doing. Remember, this is just revenue for the past year, saying nothing of the cash reserves a wealthy club (and non-English, as they just blow it all) will likely have.

http://www.soccerticketsonline.com/w...id-is-so-rich/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7884780.stm