There has been a whole lot of bluster about Lionel Messi over the last few days as he has reportedly fallen out with Barcelona coach Luis Enrique.
Areas of the media have suggested that the best player ever may be on his way to Chelsea after Messi ‘liked‘ Chelsea FC on Instagram.
But, with the new FIFA FairPlay legislation, can Chelsea afford to buy Messi? These new laws fall heavily in favour of ‘old money’ – that is clubs who have built their wealth over a long period of time and consequently have massive annual turnovers.
This would suggest that the clubs most likely to be able to afford Messi would perhaps not be Chelsea and City – the biggest spenders in recent history – but Manchester United and Arsenal.
In short, the FIFA FairPlay rules state that a club will be in breach if they spend over £105m more than they earn in a three year period.
Last year Chelsea’s turnover was just over £300m. Manchester United show a turnover, in the same period, of about £420m.
This would mean that Chelsea could still buy Messi if they sold a few players and tightened their belts in the subsequent period. But the rules also state that clubs are only allowed to increase their wage bill by up to £4m per year if the overall wage bill is above £52m per annum. Chelsea’s bill is way over £100m per year.
This rule would also affect Manchester United’s ability to sign Messi and they too would have to cut their staff to make a move for the genius.
The cost of the purchase would of course be offset, in part, by the increased sponsorship revenue that would inevitably be generated with Messi at the club.
All in all the idea of buying Lionel Messi in today’s market is probably a fanciful one. But, economically speaking, you would say that Manchester United are perhaps the most likely club to be able to pull off this deal.
