June 2020

Does football need a salary cap, as suggested by FIFA president Gianni Infantino? The Sunday Supplement panel discuss the pros and cons.

Infantino has called for a discussion to be held over both transfer fees and salaries at "all levels of the game" on the back of the financial impact of coronavirus, which has already led many clubs - including Barcelona - to ask players to either defer or cut their wages.

On the Sunday Supplement, Steve Bates of the Sunday People said he felt a review of finances within the game was overdue.

He said: "Certainly when it comes to players and their agents, we're entering a new football world and we're going to see a reboot of football finances now.

"Despite speculation there's going to be £100m transfers, I don't think we're going to see that instantly. Football clubs have to be realistic in this, and maybe players' wages, contracts, transfer fees will have to have a reboot too.

"A lot of people in football had thought the transfer market was out of control, players' wages are out of control with relation to the rest of society, and maybe this is the moment when those caps are a viable conversation to have."

Fifa's 'rich' stance on salary cap

Miguel Delaney, chief football writer at The Independent, told the Supplement that the idea of rebooting football did not appear to align with FIFA's own actions.

He said: "It's a bit rich Infantino and FIFA saying this because just before the coronavirus crisis, he had big plans for a club world cup which was going to come in next summer, and really it was about money - they've seen how much money the Champions League was making and superseding the World Cup, and wanted a piece of that.

"To make it happen, it'd be backed by Saudi Arabian state money and was going to involve huge participation fees to the clubs involved, and one of the examples raised was from Argentina - River Plate and Boca Juniors. But the minute that happens, it increases the financial gap which is already there. One of the policies they've recently had, one of their main aims, would increase this gap Infantino was talking about.

"One of my main worries about the crisis is that a lot of people are talking at EFL level, but it could benefit the wealthier clubs which can hold their ground. You only have to look at the transfer market - a lot of clubs who don't necessarily have that money, they have to sell to keep the lights on, and the clubs who have money could take advantage of that. It could accelerate the gap."

Is the EFL in most need of change?

Without the financial muscle of the Premier League, a salary cap has already been discussed in the EFL, with League Two clubs in particular having held discussions about the prospect.

Daily Telegraph football correspondent Matt Law told the Supplement he felt a cap was necessary further down the footballing pyramid with clubs' existences at stake.

He said: "At the lower end of the game, particularly League Two and League One, you probably do need a salary cap moving forward. We see so many problems with players coming out of contract. We're going to have unemployment of players at that level, we're going to have clubs probably going to the wall, a lot of clubs struggling.

"I'm not sure that's what Infantino is particularly taking aim at here. I suspect he's taking aim at the bigger players and the huge salaries. That's where I find it a little bit strange. We rely on these players so much, we talk about them lifting the mood of a nation, about them having to go back and play in a contact sport where there is a health risk, no matter how small we're told it is, we're constantly told they're role models who can help society, they can do this and that, and yet we're constantly saying they're paid too much and we should cut their wages.

"We're not talking about bankers, film stars, anyone else - it's always footballers. It's always these lads with a slight distrust of the money they earn. I always find that hard to square off. The Premier League clubs earn an awful lot of money, a lot of them have very wealthy owners, they can afford to pay their players. They might not be able to spend £100m on a transfer, but they can afford to pay their players. I find it a difficult debate."