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For all the talk of how state-backed ultra-rich clubs have conquered European football, this year’s Champions League final offers a blast from the past, with two fan-controlled teams competing for the top prize. of the game.
The match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, which will be played in front of 86,000 fans at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night, is the first time since 2017 that Europe’s biggest final will be held without at least one team owned by billionaires or of a sovereign state.
Real Madrid will be seeking their 15th European title, while underdog Dortmund could win their second. To reach the final, both had to overcome an opponent funded by a petrostate. The Spanish champions overcame Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City in the quarter-finals, while Dortmund beat Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.
On the pitch, it is clear that Europe’s old guard can still compete with football’s best nouveau riche, while governing bodies now recognize that reining in the power of sovereign wealth is vital to the long-term health of the game.
Of course, Real and Dortmund are not poor. According to Deloitte, the Spanish champion had the highest revenue in world football last year, while the German team ranked 12th.
Despite being owned by its members, Real have still been able to attract capital from outside investors through a partnership with American private equity firm Sixth Street, and have had no problems attracting and paying top players like the Englishman. Jude Bellingham, who signed last summer. from Dortmund for 100 million euros. He will be joined imminently by French superstar Kylian Mbappé, who will leave PSG in search of the European glory that the club has eluded despite billions from Qatar.
In local leagues, state-backed clubs remain dominant. Manchester City has just won its sixth Premier League title in seven years.while Paris Saint-Germain has added 10 French championships to its trophy case since it was bought by Qatar Sports Investment in 2011.
As always in football, luck played a vital role in shaping Saturday’s encounter. Real needed a penalty shootout to beat City in the quarter-finals, while Dortmund withstood an onslaught of PSG attacks in the semi-finals. There was a time when a final between Qatar and Abu Dhabi seemed more likely than unlikely.
But as football’s governing bodies begin to restrict spending, the financial power of state clubs should, in theory, lose some of its potency.
In the Premier League, where 115 accusations of violations of spending rules still weigh on City, a new financial regime is on the horizon. Next week, clubs will vote on possible reforms, including one to limit spending by top teams based on the revenue generated by those at the bottom.
This season saw the introduction of new financial rules by UEFA, European football’s governing body, limiting the amount a team can spend on its playing staff to 90 per cent of revenue. The “staff cost” rule will be adjusted next season to 80 percent of revenue, and again the following year to 70 percent.
These rule changes will not make European trophies more accessible to a wider group of clubs. In fact, some of them, such as the headcount cost rule that links spending to income, are more likely to cement the status quo by making it harder to enter the elite.
UEFA already rewards a club’s pedigree. Approximately one-third of Champions League prize money is allocated based on performance in the tournament over the previous five years. That’s why Saudi-owned Newcastle United’s earnings from their appearance in the group stage of the competition this season were significantly less than those of the Champions League regulars.
Lax financial regulation left the door open for City and PSG to buy their way into football’s elite. A tightening of the rules will test whether new money can still change the sport’s balance of power.