Real Madrid, Finances and Michel Platini

According to a new report that was released after Manchester United decided to go public (in other words, allow the public to buy and sell shares of their company), Real Madrid would be the most valuable team in the world if they were to be traded on the open market.

The analysis in the magazine Espansión cites economists and stock brokers who agree that Madrid's value on the open market would be around €2.65 billion, with Barcelona next in line at €2.3 billion (United's value is around €2 billion). Interestingly, Spanish federation bylaws prevent Real Madrid and Barcelona from going public, so this case is purely hypothetical.

This analysis seems to be more or less in line with what other notable publications (like Forbes, for example) have suggested about los blancos and their relation to football finances.

In other financial-Real Madrid news, Michel Platini, the obnoxious president of UEFA, has, for the first time ever, said something that makes sense about Real Madrid and Spanish soccer. Read on.

Of course, what he said is critical of the Spanish system. This shocks no one. What is shocking is that he recognized that the Spanish (and the Italian) system is actually a problem for all the major leagues (this is the first time I've heard anyone from FIFA or UEFA say anything like this, so that's cool):

"I am worried. There are strikes in Italy and Spain over players not getting paid. These are my personal reservations, not Uefa's. Maybe this is the future of football." Source: The Guardian

In the same article, Platini said that he worries that soccer is "going pear-shaped" amid "lots of red lights flashing." While I tend to disagree with, oh, 90 percent of what Platini has to say about everything, I actually think that he's more or less right in this assessment. This stuff (the strikes, etc) is going to keep happening until there is some real action on the part of the leagues and the governing bodies.

But guess what? All he has in the way of actual solutions is making sure the Financial Fair Play rules are in effect (they'll probably do nothing), and backing Sepp Mother-F***ing Blatter for FIFA president. Are you kidding me man?