Will record spending lead to record success? The Premier League transfer window has just closed, with top teams buying players for huge amounts. But many say the system is unfair.
Top clubs splash the cash in £3bn summer
Money money money: Reports suggest that Isak will soon be living in a rich man's world, taking home £250,000 in base wages alone every week at Liverpool. Comprehension quiz
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Which word is the closest synonym for “lucrative”?
A: Competitive
B: Profitable
C: Expensive
D: Difficult
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In the phrase “this summer’s bonanza,” what is the best meaning of “bonanza”?
A: A period of intense competition
B: A significant financial loss
C: A situation creating a sudden increase in wealth or good fortune
D: A type of transfer fee for a new player
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What was the previous record amount spent by Premiership teams in a single transfer window?
A: £1.96bn
B: £415m
C: £3.09bn
D: £2.36bn
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According to Martyn Ziegler, which two of the following are reasons for this summer’s spending bonanza?
A: Nine English teams qualifying for European competitions
B: The introduction of the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR)
C: Increased payments for Premiership TV rights
D: Smaller clubs like Nottingham Forest upsetting bigger ones
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In your own words, summarise the “more sinister trend” that the Observer believes is behind the summer spending.
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Explain how the financial deals of clubs like Manchester City, mentioned in the article, support the argument that the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) gave bigger clubs an “unfair advantage”.
Answers
Tap to reveal
1. B 2. C 3. D 4. A and C 5. The Observer believes the elite clubs spent so much money to ensure smaller clubs could not challenge them again, by buying up their key players and weakening them as rivals. 6. A good answer should connect three separate pieces of information from the text: The article states that many felt the PSR gave bigger clubs an unfair advantage because they "received more money from sources such as sponsorship." It then provides a specific example of this, noting that Manchester City have signed a £1bn deal for kit sponsorship with Puma. The PSR limited how much money a club could lose (£105m over three seasons), not how much they could spend. Therefore, a club like Manchester City, with massive sponsorship revenue, could spend far more on players than a poorer club and still stay within the loss limits, creating the "unfair advantage" that led to the rules being changed.
Glossary
Transfer window - A time in the year when football clubs may buy and sell players.
Behemoth - Originally a monster described in the Bible, today the term is used to describe anything large, unwieldy and potentially dangerous.
Lucrative - Profitable, or something that makes a lot of money.
Fifa - The Federation Internationale de Football Association is the world's highest governing body of association football.