Although it may seem new to the general public, the phenomenon of investment funds in the world of football It has been operating for many years now. It was born in Latin America, mainly in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay, although in a more rudimentary version in which the place of investment funds was occupied by “companies” and has gone from being a growing phenomenon to becoming a real problem for FIFA, UEFA and the different national federations. They observe with concern how the control that the national associations exercised in a well-known manner in matters of transfers begins to be diluted and complicated by the appearance of new actors (financial) that demand prominence and a leading voice.
These investment funds are nothing more than financial organizations which in one way or another are linked to investment banks, normally and their objective is to obtain capital gains at the time of the transfer of a player in whom they have invested money in exchange for a participation in the player's federative rights. It is a risky business, with a future that does not always end well, which is why all the necessary “precautions” are taken to reduce those risks and that is where things start to get really difficult, because each member of the chain defends its plot like a cat on its belly, usually at the cost of seeking the greatest capacity for influence and decision and placing itself in the “pole position” for when the expected moment arrives.
These funds are created to attract future figures in countries with export football markets and They seek to “protect, protect and “sustain” the players who go to cracks and to the clubs that cannot pay him what they offer him from Europe, for example. In the first stage, the fund is well received because it injects the money necessary for the player to calm down and live well while acquiring prestige and notoriety and the club can have a figure project that it would not otherwise be able to sustain or maintain. Problems usually come when the long-awaited million-dollar transfer to Europe knocks on the door. Although everything is written, as it is a negotiation between several parties, each one seeks to bring the ember to the sardine of their interest with all kinds of maneuvers, pressures and influences.
The F.I.F.A and especially the U.E.F.A do not look favorably on this type of practice because they understand that it takes away financial control in the clubs and does not allow them to set limits on management and debt levels that they consider reasonable. The truth is that he is right. Between this and the clubs bought and managed by magnates with fortunes of dubious or illicit origin, they have a task ahead of them and it will not be easy for things to be done as these international organizations want. Of course, everything can get much more complicated if we look at aspects such as the fact that, to what has been mentioned, we can add that, sometimes, the advisors and partners of the fund are super-agents of the players it manages or former directors of large clubs with interests in all the plots or that the aforementioned funds operate from tax havens or from the city of London itself, although sometimes it seems that there is not much difference... Yes, it is something to worry about, because football needs transparency, exemplarity, professionalism and preparation for the best and most effective management possible. and these operations cast shadows, doubts and mistrust on the international football scene.
Much more so if we have as an example the button of the NEYMAR case, all against all in court or we see FALCAO in a career that is difficult to understand from a football point of view or if we check the kangaroo jumps in JAMES's stratospheric career, etc., etc. Of course, to be objective, it is worth not forgetting that the AT. MADRID was able to enjoy the aforementioned Colombian striker and other players thanks to these funds or that there are teams in our league that are in the first division thanks to these operations or that the greats of Portuguese soccer survive and do excellent business based on these practices for a long time. There are those who think that they help balance the competition and stand up to the big guys, but it seems to me that the matter has more shadows than lights and the consequences are usually devastating when they are discovered after a while.
The solution that the funds have the ability to decide only financially and not in sports is an illusion that I do not believe will materialize. How and who are they going to tell the investment fund managers that same thing if they are the one who puts up the money, sometimes even pays the player, finances the club or gives it to the current player, in an operation similar to what a financial lease would be? As we know it, the issue is difficult to solve. It is a remedy for teams that do not have money, are heavily in debt or want to make money with “atypical” operations, something that is difficult to achieve. The great president of Real Madrid, Mr. Santiago Bernabeu said decades ago “if football were a business, the banks would have been in it many years ago.” It remains that way, because this thing about funds is not exactly “good” banking, but rather investment banking and “very financial” and we all know where this way of doing things has taken us. More austerity, more talent, more patience and professionalism, more training and rigor and we would avoid many of the funds, for sure.