A report carried out for the European Commission has suggested that clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid should pay a further tax for big transfers.
Research agency KEA this week published a study into the transfer market in European football, carried out on behalf of the European Commission.
The summation of the report suggests that clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid should pay a ‘fair play’ tax when purchasing players over a certain value, so as to better redistribute wealth in the game.
The study’s findings demonstrated the growth in the transfer market in the game, highlighting that where 5,735 transfers took place in 1994-95 at a total spend of €402,869,000, by 2010-11 those numbers had dramatically increased.
The total number of transfers two seasons ago had trebled in 16 years to 18,307, whilst the total spend had increased by a multiple of more than seven, up to €3,002,198,000. It also found that the Leagues in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain accounted for more than 55 per cent of this total spend.
The report also concluded that there was a direct correlation between money spent in the market and success on the field and that this finding was proof that the transfer market presents a ‘competitive imbalance’, questioning the ‘imperative of uncertainty in sports results’.
This situation is seen as the reason the European Commission asked for the report to be carried out, as they attempt to review the transfer market system previously co-written in 2001 with FIFA.
The key suggestion made by the report centres on improving and increasing ‘redistribution between clubs, as well as control over financial transactions and accounting linked to transfers’. The recommendation is that transfer fees paid out over a certain amount incur a ‘fair play levy’, in order to fund redistribution from wealthier clubs to less wealthy clubs.
It is also suggested that movement of players are better publicised ‘to ensure that solidarity compensations are paid to clubs and that the latter are aware of their rights in this respect’, and that squad sizes are limited at clubs, whilst the loan transfer mechanism is better regulated and third party ownership issues are addressed to protect the freedom of players and the competitiveness of the sport.
