The cost of football

Some interesting data comparing the Spanish, German, Italian and UK top flight leagues. It won't suprise you to find that it is much more expensive to buy a ticket in the UK.

Apparently you can get a match day ticket to see Valencia at a price (£8.30) which is cheaper than the cost of watching some southern league sides in the UK. The same can be said for a number of German and Italian top flight teams.

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Working class Brits get ripped off again to line the pockets of the wealthy, shock headline.

It interesting enough but doesn't explain how they keep there prices down.

Most of the money sloshing around English football goes on players wages. Even the record new Sky deal will only see the new money going directly to the players and certainly not to driving down ticket prices.

In all four divisions players have an exagerated sense of their worth and clubs and fans are happy enough to pay the 'going' rate to get the players they want.

The financial fair play rules will help somewhat but even Argyle are in hock despite the 55% rule and our ticket prices for 4th rate football are too high.

Football runs on a strange mix of misplaced sense of loyalty and very insular solidarity that rarely sees beyond ones own football club.

Interestingly one reason thats put forward for Pep going to Bayern Munich was there financial independence and lack of sugar daddy owner.

How do our wages compare with say the Spanish leagues? Surely the stars there earn a fortune as well?

mine are shit!

it costs me a packet i know that much,,,nationlise it,,,set wages for each division,,,we all as football fans want a level playing field,,i hope to see it in my life time,

£8.30 to watch Valencia seriously? how on earth do they manage that?

If that is correct (I don't doubt it for a minute) then paying £20 to go and watch
a struggling 4th division team playing shite football makes no sense at all.

And before anyone sprouts off about it being about loyalty to the team well it
works both ways Argyle haven't exactly done much these last few years to be
loyal about have they.

how do you want them to be loyal mr daze?

tcm wrote:

how do you want them to be loyal mr daze?

Honesty & integrity would help.

yeah,,,wad ever gob on and on and on,,,

Happy Daze wrote:

£8.30 to watch Valencia seriously? how on earth do they manage that?

If that is correct (I don't doubt it for a minute) then paying £20 to go and watch
a struggling 4th division team playing shite football makes no sense at all.

And before anyone sprouts off about it being about loyalty to the team well it
works both ways Argyle haven't exactly done much these last few years to be
loyal about have they.

possibly due to the excellent support thry get, higher attendance= more cash; mr brent, are you listening

valencia though have been and continue to struggle financially.
£20 for 4th division football is a disgrace but this is rip off britain we are talking about.

4 pro divisions is the exception not the rule.

no where else in the world would 6k turn up for 4th divsion football - maybe a german exception - lokomotiv leipzig.

wages in the country for footballers are the best in europe, why are most (not all) of best players in the world over here ?

rich foreign benefactors have seen the premier league take seria a's place.

the wage cape will filter upwards,it will take time,bu its allready in motion,,,,20 years or so should do it,

Mapperley, darling wrote:

Happy Daze wrote:

£8.30 to watch Valencia seriously? how on earth do they manage that?

If that is correct (I don't doubt it for a minute) then paying £20 to go and watch
a struggling 4th division team playing shite football makes no sense at all.

And before anyone sprouts off about it being about loyalty to the team well it
works both ways Argyle haven't exactly done much these last few years to be
loyal about have they.

possibly due to the excellent support thry get, higher attendance= more cash; mr brent, are you listening

That might be part of it. According to Wiki, Valencia on average get 40,000. A decent crowd for a top flight side, but not exactly spectacular. The high attendances for low prices are more apparent in German. Schalke get 60,000+. Only 6 clubs average over 40,000 in the UK, and two of those (Man City and Chelsea) are propped up by wealthy owners, making their team more attractive than they might otherwise be. There are also only 6 Spanish clubs over 40,000 despite their low prices, but 12 German teams.


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I suspect wages are the main difference. Even mediocre players, or unproven players seem to be on huge wages in the English leagues. Just look at Micheal Johnson, recently released from Man City, who was on a long-term 40k a week contract despite having never done much at senior level. I think the other european leagues have lower wages for all but the top players, and are happy /resigned to letting our teams poach their mediocre players or unproven youth players, rather than pay them ridiculous wage to keep them. This explains why the majority of Premiership players, and an increasing proportion of Championship players come from abroad, even though they play at a level that isn't that outstanding.

It'd also help that the German people are less downtrodden than the rest of Europe.

Mock Cuncher wrote:

It'd also help that the German people are less downtrodden than the rest of Europe.

Particularly in the fact that they can stand up at a game and even have a beer in sight of the pitch, I paid more to get in to Dartford Tuesday than I would pay to watch Borussia Dortmund.

The Mestalla is a magical place to watch a game especially under the lights, thruppence to get in, right in the middle of town, v friendly supporters and cheap beer as long as you don't go into any of the posey bars.

i remembered this article by David Conn and in particular the quotes from Taylor about all seater stadium and pricing

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Lord Tisdale wrote:

Mock Cuncher wrote:

It'd also help that the German people are less downtrodden than the rest of Europe.

Particularly in the fact that they can stand up at a game and even have a beer in sight of the pitch, I paid more to get in to Dartford Tuesday than I would pay to watch Borussia Dortmund.

The Mestalla is a magical place to watch a game especially under the lights, thruppence to get in, right in the middle of town, v friendly supporters and cheap beer as long as you don't go into any of the posey bars.

Valencia is probably my favourite european city. Hundreds of millions of £££'s ploughed in to it - biggest aquarium in europe, Formula 1 circuit, brand new ATP Tennis venue, the futuristic City of Arts &Sciences area, not to mention being an Americas Cup venue (along with some other stunning european waterfront city ) The centre of town around the bullring and railway station is just beautifully Spanish - a million miles from the mime artists and pickpockets of Barca's Ramblas...

The Mestalla has a proper football stadium feel about it, but it is crumbling - pretty much literally. Valencias new stadium will be jaw dropping - if they ever get round to raising the 150m Euro it'll cost to finish it.