High salaries rather than transfer fees constitute the main financial problem in top-level European football. Transfer fees can be amortized over multiple years, whereas wages create immediate balance-sheet pressure. Players often equate their market value with their salary, driving wage inflation and risking a hard-to-control salary spiral. FC Bayern has experienced the impact of generous pay structures. Paris Saint-Germain demonstrated that changing the system and reducing reliance on superstars can achieve sporting success while managing payroll. UEFA's upcoming Financial Sustainability Program will cap squad costs at 70% of income, forcing clubs to cut payrolls.
If you pay 100 million for Harry Kane, that's a lot of money. But the club amortizes that over five years, so it's 20 million per year on the balance sheet. The big problem is the high salaries. FC Bayern are feeling that too. When it comes to our players' salaries, we have been somewhat generous - and we have to say that self-critically,
Players base their value on their salary. The appreciation often mentioned by players is actually the financial significance that many associate with it. We have to be incredibly careful not to get into a spiral with the salary structure that then becomes difficult to control. Paris St. Germain have solved that in an exemplary way over the past 24 months. They brought in a coach who, from the very beginning, said something like: 'I don't need superstars who just make my dressing room dizzy.' Our payroll is at a level that also means there's a lot of talk about money. As we can see at PSG, you can also achieve big success by changing the system.
Let's take Mathys Tel as an example. He was in the average salary bracket with us, and accordingly, I think it was possible to achieve a very good transfer fee. It's more difficult with other players on higher salaries. Starting this summer, the most stringent stage of UEFA's new Financial Sustainability Program will come into effect: clubs will then only be allowed to spend 70 percent of their income on squad costs, including transfers, salaries, and agent fees. So, everyone is trying to reduce their payroll for now.
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