Massive pay packets demonstrate that the world’s top sportspeople do more than just play sport well
With another season of English Premier League about to kick off, much has been made of the effort clubs make to secure the best players. As The National reported yesterday, the transfer fees for just nine top footballers total more than Dh1.5 billion, purely based on their ability to play a game.
This phenomenon is not restricted to football. The best golfers, racing car drivers, basketball players, boxers and sprinters also earn astronomical sums for activities that until very recently were considered to be hobbies rather than professions. The modest status was matched by the remuneration available, with professional footballers in England in 1961 earning only £20 (Dh122) a week. Contrast that with Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, who now earns £300,000 (Dh1.8 million) a week.
But that misidentifies the modern role of top sportspeople, who could more accurately be described as entertainers and celebrities. Their pay has to stack up on a commercial basis based on the number of people willing to watch them either in person or via television.
When people in places like the UAE can be inspired to fanatically support teams based in foreign cities they may never visit, like Manchester and Barcelona, who could begrudge the players’ mammoth pay packets?