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FOOTBALL'S RED CARD
THE WORLD'S MOST VALUABLE SPORTS TEAM
IS drowning in debt. English football powerhouse
Manchester United (Forbes estimates its worth at
$1.8 billion) had to raise some $800 million in a
bond issue last month, which is still $340 million shy
of its total debts. Man U needed the bond to pay off
the millions that American businessman
Malcolm Glazer borrowed to purchase the team in
2005. But in the first three weeks since the bond
was issued it lost nearly 10 percent of its value, a
sign that, even though Man U's revenues reached a
record $444 million last year, the market is growing
wary of debt, particularly the European variety
Man U isn't alone. Debt levels have also skyrocketed
among rivals like liverpool, calling into question the
business model of English Premier League football.
Each year the three worst teams are banished to
a lower league, where vital broadcasting revenues
are dramatically reduced. This puts huge pressure
on clubs to compete for the best players, who now
regularly fetch more than $50 million a year. Unlike
in the U.S., there's no system of collective bargaining to restrain wages. As a result, the total salary
bill for the Premier League has risen more than 20
percent since 2008. This has created a vicious cycle
of rising debt among clubs that must spend extravagantly on players to ensure increased revenue. Any
team attempting to be frugal becomes more likely
to end up with lower revenue. It's become a game
of who can spend the most, and it probably won't
end well.
(BY WILLIAM UNDERHILL - Newsweek)
De acordo com o texto, o Manchester United