In a ‘alarming’ tirade against the transfer market, the head of a continental club names checks Sunderland and Burnley.
According to FC Porto president André Villas-Boas, it is “alarming” that his team must now contend with Sunderland and Burnley in the transfer market rather than other supposedly powerful European teams like Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
The Black Cats and their recently promoted rivals both had extremely successful summer transfer windows; Regis Le Bris’ team, in particular, spent more than £150 million and added 14 new players. Villas-Boas has stated that the capacity of Premier League newcomers to display their financial might to such an eye-catching degree is a concerning reflection of the health of the Portuguese game, even though supporters have been impressed by the club’s recent recruitment drive.
“The fact that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to sign players has a lot to do with the costs involved,” the former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur star stated at the Portugal Football Summit, as reported by O Jogo. Our accounts are directly impacted by FC Porto’s large purchases, which call for expensive pay. We took a risk and made a sizable investment. We had to completely reorganise the club’s finances. To obtain the financial cushion that enabled us to launch an attack on the market, we had to make significant sales in January and June of last year.
“It’s getting harder to sign players because FC Porto competes with Burnley, Sunderland, and Bologna for players instead of Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, or Marseille.” Fifty percent of UEFA clubs already own multiple clubs, which allows them to easily move players within their club chain, generate high profits, and make investments because their owners have the funds to do so.
“There is more competition now, and the big clubs’ structures—Real Madrid, [Manchester] City, and Barcelona—are already bringing in 16-, 17-, or 18-year-olds who would have otherwise played Portuguese football. Due to their inability to compete, Chelsea and Real Madrid sign Vinicius, Endrick, and Estevao instead of FC Porto and Benfica. “This whole change is alarming and necessitates forceful reactions. We are willing to engage in these constructive conversations, but when there is a lack of participation and emptiness at Presidents’ Summits, the president of FC Porto speaks while facing parallel problems in Portuguese football, such as clubs that refuse to invest in VAR technology, cameras affixed to lampposts, and a subpar product. We waste time and achieve nothing.
Read more news on sportupdates.co.uk
Leave a Reply