Pounds of flesh OTT
AM sure that ardent followers of the English Premier League, and a few other leagues around the world for that matter, cannot wait for the new season to kick off.
The EPL gets under way on Friday, August 11, when Arsenal host Leicester City, followed by a full programme the next two days. But sport lovers were not left in the lurch.
There was Wimbledon, The Tour de France, The Women’s Cricket World Cup which England won, Formula One Motor Racing, the British Open Golf and Super 15 Rugby, to name just a few of the international events.
There has been some frenetic activity in the international transfer market as teams virtually break the bank to buy players in preparation for another challenging season. But the money that some clubs are asking for key players is astonishing and perhaps downright ridiculous.
Barcelona FC have tested Liverpool’s resolve to keep Philippe Coutinho with an £80million (R1.3 billion) bid. The Catalan giants came up with an improved offer for the Brazilian midfielder after their initial bid was rejected. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp insists the club will not buckle and sell Coutinho like it did with Raheem Sterling and Luis Suarez.
Paris St-Germain are reportedly ready to pay £199m (R3.3 billion) for Barcelona forward Neymar. One hundred and ninety-nine million pounds for one player... just let that sink in. It is more than double the current world record fee paid by Manchester United for Paul Pogba and almost two-and-a-half times that paid by Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009. See what I mean when I say it’s just plain ridiculous.
I believe there should be a cap on the fees paid for top football stars. But how is Paris St-Germain, which is not in the top 10 of the world’s richest clubs, able to spend almost a third of their value on one player?
And just how does the club making that over-inflated purchase recoup those funds?
Some readers will remember Financial Fair Play. It was all the rage when it was introduced by UEFA in 2014 with the aim of preventing teams from spending beyond their means. Clubs were asked to balance football-related expenditure – transfers and wages – with TV and ticket income, plus revenue raised by their commercial departments.
Manchester City, Monaco, Inter Milan and Roma were among Europe’s top-flight clubs who were punished for breaking FFP rules following its introduction – they were handed fines and transfer restrictions.
In 2014, PSG fell foul because their £167m (R2.8 billion) commercial contract with an international sponsor was deemed to have an unfair value by UEFA’s independent investigation panel.
They were given a £20m (R336 million) fine, their spending was capped at £49m (R823 million) and they competed in the 2014/15 Champions League with just 21 players instead of the usual 25.
THE Sharks were incredibly unlucky to have lost against the Lions on Saturday. They needed the win to stay in the Super Rugby League. While the derby was one of the best I have seen, the Lions did not deserve to lose the game either.
I was at the Shark Tank a week before to watch the home side capitulate to the team from Gauteng 27-10, so it was with some trepidation that I decided to watch the second playoff game, thinking that the Sharks did not really have a chance, especially playing away from home.
But Robert du Preez’s men got their game plan down to perfection, leading 21-20 with two minutes remaining. But the Lions got the gift of a penalty kick right at the death, which was kicked over from 45m to give the home side their 14th win on the trot, something no other South African side has managed to achieve.
The Lions are on song to host a Super Rugby final should they beat the Hurricanes, the only New Zealand team they did not beat last season.
THE British Open again lived up to its top-class billing with the world's top golfers competing for the coveted green jacket, but in the end there could be only one winner. Jordan Speith walked away with the win, quite deservedly I might add.
Speith is a magician on the green and this is one aspect of his game that defines him from the other top golfers. His chipping, bunker shots and putting are a pleasure to watch and features all golfers can learn from.
Speith had an unbelievable last five holes in the final round to finish three clear from Matt Kuchar.
Making history at the Royal Birkindale this past weekend was South African Brendan “Amazing” Grace with a sensational, extraordinary and memorable round of 62 in the third round, which included eight birdies.
There have been plenty of rounds of 63 in the past but never has any golfer recorded 62 in a major, which catapulted Grace up the leader board to be four under with a round to play.
Until next time, happy sporting. Naresh Maharaj is sports editor/ presenter on DYR 105.1fm. He is also an MC, international sports
correspondent, voice-over artist and freelance motoring journalist.
Email: maharaj@telkomsa.net