Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
Andy Pakes previews this Sunday afternoon clash in the first edition of Game of the Week for 2012
Dave Hughes tells us about his sporting hero, Wes Morgan
Saturday night's final to many symbolised the epitome of football, as the two best footballing clubs in the world took to the pitch. But was this really what football should be aiming for?
There is surely no doubt that this was the most entertaining final since Liverpool lifted the trophy in the thriller of Istanbul in 2005, and many have been quick to suggest that this was a showcase of the very best football has to offer.
However, there was a dark undercurrent to this match. Many Manchester United fans were wearing the old “Green and Yellow” colours of Newton Heath in protest at their owners, whilst only last year Barcelona were struggling to pay their players' wages.
Lord Sugar pointed out that “When you look around you see that the collective debt for the [Premier League] clubs is £3.3 billion. Most of the clubs are spending more than they receive. It's not a business.” No clubs epitomise this sentiment more than the two on show on Saturday night.
Despite entering into a commercial shirt sponsorship deal for their first time FC Barcelona continues to be unprofitable, with debts exceeding 500 million Euros. Indeed when Sandro Rosell took the Presidency last year, the financial situation was so dire that he was forced to immediately secure a £125 million loan for the club.
Despite this financial turmoil, the club continues to throw money at top names, with around £50 million spent on bringing players to the club last Summer. And despite Rosell's promises of austerity for the club, it looks likely that Barcelona will make a bank-busting bid for Cesc Fabregas among others this Summer.
Because of the very set-up of FC Barcelona, they expose themselves to this problem. They are run entirely by their fans, the cause of high spending. Campaigns for President of FC Barcelona are dominated by pledges to sign one player or the other, often players they can't really afford. This has no doubt created the best team in the world, but its sustainability is questionable at best.
The situation seems worse at Manchester United. The Glazer family took over United in 2005, in an agreement financed largely by loans which were secured against the assets of the football club (consider it like a mortgage). Although through a somewhat complex financial manoeuvre, the Glazers managed to extend the loans to 2017, and ensure that the club would not be put into administration if they defaulted, the Glazers have still saddled the club with hundreds of millions of pounds of debt.
Even more concerning for United is the large swathes of money the owners are taking out of the club to repay the debt. The current loan agreements allow the Glazers to take out 50% of the cash profits from the club to pay back the loans they took out to buy the club, along with another £20 million per year. But this alone may not be enough to finance debts with interest rates of between 8 and 15%!
If United's profits don't pick-up, there is no doubt that they will fail to repay their loans. This puts the club in the hands of large hedge-funds whose sole aim will be recouping their investment as quickly as possible.
Both these clubs have showcased the problem of modern football. They've prioritised the wages of big stars over their creditors (indeed it would be interesting to know how much each respective club owes the taxman). They've not been run as a business, making massive losses in order to gain success on the pitch. Ultimately these European giants have mortgaged their future in order to have success in the present. Whilst this might placate trophy-hungry 'fans', will those individuals stick around when these clubs find their debts being called in?
Football needs a revolution, clubs need to forget the fairytale and return to business reality. Fans of Portsmouth, Luton or Chester will tell you that. I suspect we may have to see the downfall of one of the great clubs, like United or Barcelona before clubs start saving money in the present for success in the future, rather than borrowing from the future to pay for the present.
I for one will be surprised if we see these two teams battling in Champions League final again any time soon.
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