The Difference of Wages in the EPL

Wage Gap in the EPL
The English Premier League has a multitude of talent in its league, but that does not mean all of the stars and excellent soccer players are playing on all 20 clubs. There is a major gap when we talk about the amount of money clubs have to spend on its players. The top 6 teams in the English Premier League as far as talent/financial success throughout the years include, Manchester United(580M), Liverpool(558M), Manchester City(549M), Chelsea(469M), Tottenham(445M), and Arsenal(338M). The next closest team financially is Everton, who is over 100M short from Arsenal. The top 6 teams in the EPL, working with a different salary can have a major effect on the English Premier Leagues integrity of just "buying" talent without much scouting or development. 


Manchester United's newest star, Cristiano Ronaldo, just costed ManU 100 million pounds for his transfer fee, including 40 million for for the contract he is owed. Unfortunately for the Premier League, not every club is working with that type of budget. Having the ability to purchase players and get them to transfer to your club is a major advantage. To put this into perspective, if the NFL had a no salary cap type of system where the value of the teams is tied into how much you can spend on your team, there would be a lot of chaos and pushback from the league. If Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, the most coveted and financially successful professional sports team in North America, decided to write a pay check to Tom Brady to play one season for 80 million dollars, there would be a ton of blowback and unsteadiness in to the NFL. A team in the English Premier League like Burnley would not be able to afford anywhere near the amount Manchester United is able to spend, creating an unfair advantage for the top 6 EPL teams to likely achieve great seasons year after year, causing the 14 other clubs to be irrelevant or nonexistent.  


UEFA created the Financial Fair Play system(FFP) in order to create more freedom for clubs to spend on players how they would like to. The FPP system that was in place starting in 2010-11 season prohibited clubs from spending more than what they earn. Hopefully, the English Premier League is able to find a solution to create a more steady, fair
playing field to not only have a more competitive league, but for everyone to have the opportunity to be a great soccer club.


Sources:

-https://www.pledgesports.org/2017/06/8-richest-football-clubs-in-england/

-https://www.si.com/soccer/chelsea/news/financial-fair-play-set-to-be-scrapped-chelsea-to-be-given-more-freedom-in-150m-transfer-pursuit-of-erling-haaland

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 23, 2022 at 3:57 AM

    I knew that certain clubs had more financial power than others, but I did not realize how much more the top 6 clubs where compared to the rest of the EPL. I believe that it is a bit unfair that not all clubs have a salary cap as they do in the United States, but the implementation of the Financial Fair Play system is a step in the right direction. It would be interesting to see an actual salary cap implemented, but I believe it would bring about many complications. We will see how the FFP system changes the EPL in the future.

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  2. Drew DonohueMarch 24, 2022 at 2:28 PM

    After reading this article and understanding the wide gap that clubs are able to spend on players, I immediately think of Leicester City. A few years ago, Leicester City won the Premier League title after having a 5000-1 odds of accomplishing this feat. This shows that even with this "unfair" advantage it is still possible for clubs to outperform others while spending less at the same time. Obviously this may be an exemption so it is nice to see the FFP system taking initiative and acknowledging this problem in the league.

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  3. AnonymousMarch 27, 2022 at 3:10 AM

    Like Drew mentioned, I immediately think of Leicester City, a true underdog story. But right after they won, their best young talent got bought out from bigger clubs. Maguire headed to Manchester United, Kante to Chelsea, and Mahrez to Manchester City. As a fan, I love seeing unlikely teams succeed. However, with the financial situations just mentioned it is so rare. No matter what happens, the big 6 are always at the top of the leaderboard because they have the money to buy the best players throughout the rest of the league.

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  4. AnonymousMarch 28, 2022 at 12:17 AM

    I think the FFP was a smart decision that was implemented by UEFA. It has helped to try and create more of a level playing field. However, in the top leagues the bigger clubs will always have an advantage. But, as a wise man one said you cant buy trophies. Though having the biggest stars in the sport not only helps your team on the pitch but also on the balance sheet.

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  5. Haedyn KirkpatrickMarch 28, 2022 at 12:20 AM

    I think the huge differences in pay between teams is very surprising. I did not realize how much certain players would cost the clubs. I think the FFF could help solve the current financial problems the teams are facing. It is crazy to see what huge players can do to give a team an advantage.

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