End of the Declan Rice saga. The English midfielder was being pursued by Manchester City and Arsenal in a true bidding war. The Gunners made the final bid of £105m. What is the impact of such exorbitant figures in football transactions? Moreover, what is the reason for spending such an amount on a player like him?
Index
Image: Sky Sports
Declan Rice
Declan Rice was born on January 14, 1999, in London. The young player showed a talent for football from an early age, joining Chelsea’s youth academy in 2006 at the age of only 7.
He later transferred to West Ham, the club he represented until his transfer.
Due to his Irish heritage, Rice played for Ireland in the youth national teams. However, when the time came to make a decision, he chose to represent the English national team.
Declan Rice has one title in his career, the Conference League, which he won with West Ham in the 2022/23 season.
He plays as a defensive midfielder and possesses several qualities. He has a passing accuracy of 90%, including a 63% accuracy in long passes, and an overall success rate of 74.5% in his actions.
In terms of defensive duels, he tends to come out on top, winning 55% of them against opponents.
In summary, he is a talented player who has been a regular starter for his club from an early age and even participated in the 2022 World Cup.
Image: Twitter
The Transfer Market
It is evident the growing influx of capital into the world’s biggest sport. More and more, we see legal and economic mechanisms that create a favorable environment for transfers to become investment objects for powerful economic groups.
However, what is the price of this flood of capital? More than ever, the prices of certain players, who meet the interests of specific investors, lead to an inflation of the amounts paid by clubs for often average athletes.
In other words, in some situations, if the requirements desired by investors are met, a player has a value much higher than their on-field performance capacity, while other players see their market value depreciated.
As expressed in the article about the possible sale of Angelo to Chelsea, the London club paid the exorbitant amount of €121m for Enzo Fernandez, who belonged to Benfica.
Clearly, Enzo is an excellent player with numerous qualities. Furthermore, he had a role in Argentina’s World Cup triumph. But let’s analyze it objectively. Does Enzo Fernandez’s performance on the field and everything he brings to his team justify one of the biggest transactions in football history?
The answer is clear: no!
The same goes for Declan Rice. Despite being a great football player, the amount paid for him does not reflect his on-field production or his potential for future production.
But how can we make such claims?
For that, we must rely on comparison.
One aspect is the temporal comparison. We don’t need to go back to the days of Pelé to prove our point. Let’s go back to the year 2013.
Ten years ago, Santos sold Neymar to Barcelona for €86m. Adjusted for today’s prices (using the ESCPI 2013 index), that would be around €101m. I believe there is no need to compare Neymar’s football with that of Declan Rice. At the time, Neymar had won the Copa do Brasil, Copa Libertadores, King of America, Recopa Sulamericana, and three Paulista Championships. Moreover, he was the only player outside Europe to be among the top 10 in the world.
Image: Toni Albir
Let’s go back a bit further. In 2009, Real Madrid paid €94m for none other than Cristiano Ronaldo. If we adjust that value using the mentioned index, it would be approximately €111m. There seems to be no comparison between the two players. Cristiano Ronaldo had reached a World Cup semifinal, not to mention the Ballon d’Or, Champions League, and Premier League titles.
Image: Getty Images
Now, let’s compare with today’s times. In 2018, Real Madrid paid €90m for the duo Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr., who are absolutely exceptional players, decisive and Champions League winners.
Therefore, what conclusion can we draw from these comparisons?
Players born in the United Kingdom have a generous increase in their market value simply due to being born there.
The Effect of Inflation on the Football Market
The current scenario is dangerous. There is no plausible comparison left to be made. The parameters of payment have been completely emptied in favor of investment, not the production of a player. Not what he brings on the field and delivers to his fans and club. Instead, it’s about the idea of an ideal spokesperson who, through his image, will inevitably bring the return that the investors seek.
Even if the player does not deliver the performances expected of him based on the amount paid (and he won’t), it matters little. The investments made today act to the detriment of results. It’s yet another typical case where capital is transferred from production to speculation.
It is necessary for regulatory agencies like FIFA and UEFA to intervene and enforce financial fair play rules. Otherwise, football will be doomed to an irreversible path where image holds a higher value than the players’ on-field production, compromising the true essence of the sport.
And what about you? Do you think transfer fees are justified?
Follow us on social networks to stay updated on the latest transfer market news: Instagram, Facebook e Twitter.
Written by Vitor F L Miller
