The financial trouble of a whole host of clubs may eventually help Arsenal to secure further key acquisitions in this transfer window having already signed White, Tavares, Lokonga and Odegaard while the final confirmation is pending for Aaron Ramsdale.
It appears that several high profile clubs are in desperate financial trouble and are on the verge of a major clear out to offset their monstrous debts. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan are all names that conjure up images of an elite football pedigree, but they are having to seriously look at their positions with all three ready to sell off a host of big names.
The reality is clear, post lockdown, many big clubs can’t afford to operate at the levels they were accustomed to when the revenue stream appeared endless. Barcelona and Real have been guilty of massively inflating the market for years with a monopoly board mentality that has dragged everyone along with them, but finally, football has ingested itself and the frivolous ways of yesteryear are having to make way to a more measured, frugal approach that may change the face of the modern game.
Lionel Messi, almost inseparable from the name of Barcelona was to re-sign for the Catalan outfit but has subsequently been released in embarrassing fashion to stop the club from haemorrhaging phenomenal sums. The Argentinian megastar has been more than comfortable on €70million or £59m per year.
Barcelona’s financial net debt at the end of March, when new management took over, was 673 million euros ($792 million). The adjusted provisional debt’s now above 1 billion euros, including the payment of players’ salaries deferred during the pandemic.
Inter Milan are said to be in financial trouble to the tune of €640m and are looking at bankruptcy. It’s said that they have to raise over €200m within weeks or face the inevitable consequences.
Martin Odegaard 🤝 London Colney
Back home 🏡 pic.twitter.com/6GpX9hOSBo
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 20, 2021
Real Madrid, a club whose spending was the envy of every club in the world is said to have suffocating debts of around the £700m-mark, no wonder there was a mad scramble to start a Super League this year. Their financial trouble is evident with the club selling off such a major talent like Martin Odegaard for £34m.
Therefore it’s clear that immediate action has to be taken after losing attendance revenue and that the three clubs mentioned are preparing to sell off the family silver to which could be good news for Arsenal.
The North London club may not have a massive war chest but their debt has been managed well over the years, especially under Wenger and it may be that the Gunners could pick up exactly what they need, even if they aren’t at bargain prices. Both Houssem Aouar and Lautaro Martinez are said to be on Arsenal’s radar and it’s feasible that both could part company with their current clubs to balance the books.
In the case of Aouar, it’s rumoured that Lyon were hoping for £25m but will now settle for £17.5m. Last summer, the price when Arsenal came knocking was rumoured to be £55m, which either shows the levels of greed back then or the harsh reality of the here and now with such a hefty reduction.
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Once Chelsea signed Romelu Lukaku, it was thought that Arsenal’s move for Lautaro Martinez was at an end, but such is the club’s precarious position that £60m plus could seal a deal. One can assume that this is all music to Edu and Arteta’s ears.
Elsewhere, out-of-favour Lyon keeper Andre Onana could be secured for around £6m which would be the funds raised by ridding themselves of one of their surplus players like Kolasinac. Arsenal could also convert Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Hector Bellerin into hard cash to bring other players to the Emirates for less than their original fee.
The coming weeks could be extremely interesting. We’ll keep you posted. Stay tuned to know more about Arsenal.
