Description
Book SynopsisA no-holds-barred exposé on the financialtransactionsof the world''s favourite sport
The transfer fees clubs pay to sign top players now top 4 billion a year but much of the money has been flowing out of the game. A small group of wealthy investors including Russian oligarchs, English racehorse owners and a former billionaire gold miner have seized the opportunity to enter this booming market.
Some have moved in on the territory of banks and lent money to clubs in exchange for a share in fees generated by Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and dozens more of today''s stars. Others have acquired obscure teams to get a piece of the pie.
Even as the global financial crisis sent fortunes tumbling this select group found a profitable place to park their money. The size of the transfer market has continued to rise - it increased seven-fold in value the last two decades, more than the FTSE share index.
Between them, these wealthy investors haveamasse
Table of Contents
Prologue 1
1 The Son of Jesús 9
2 The Chess Champion 23
3 The British Tax Exile 41
4 An East End Scandal 53
5 The Prime Minister’s Men 67
6 The 100-to-1 Shot 79
7 The Switzerland of South America 93
8 “Todo Pasa” 107
9 Buenos Aires to Manchester 121
10 “I Want 40% for the Boy” 137
11 The Pharmacist’s Medicine 151
12 Working on a Dream 161
13 The Baur au Lac 175
14 The End Game? 187
Epilogue 199
Bibliography 207
Acknowledgments 209
About the Authors 211
Index 213
