Russians back to the start of the millennium

Eastern clubs paid only €6 million for new signings this winter — saving money due to the collapse of the economy and the ruble.

Russian football clubs have returned to the start of this millennium — at least in terms of spending on new players. During the recently ended winter transfer window, the sixteen teams in the top division spent just under €6 million on reinforcements. For comparison, two years ago these expenses were around €112 million. The reasons for this drastic drop in the transfer market are clear: the unfavorable exchange rate of the ruble against the dollar and euro, economic sanctions against Russia, and falling oil prices on world markets. “The transfer market in Russia was almost dead, and I felt it personally. All the teams had to tighten their belts and save,” leading Czech football agent Viktor Kolar told the Economic Daily.

Risk of war not attractive
Since the ruble’s fall, foreign players paid in euros have become up to 40 percent more expensive for clubs. “It’s likely that the budgets prepared for this season have been used up by clubs just on player wages, leaving nothing for new signings,” Kolar notes. The facts speak for themselves: at the start of 2013, 25 new players found a football home in Russia, with the most expensive, Brazilian Willian, costing €35 million. And this year? Only six players joined the top flight, with the most expensive — Serbia’s Petar Skuletic — costing Lokomotiv Moscow €3.2 million. (...)

Top earners could leave
The unfavorable ruble-to-dollar/euro rate could bring far bigger problems to the owners of leading clubs — especially Zenit St. Petersburg and Dynamo Moscow. According to sports.ru, the ten highest-paid players in Russia earn a total of €47.5 million annually. In rubles, that was 1.8 billion in the summer, but after the latest drop, their salaries now amount to nearly 3.5 billion rubles. “It’s undeniable that for owners, players are now about 40 percent more expensive than when they signed their contracts,” sports analyst and football agent Jozef Tokos told the Economic Daily. According to him, it was predictable that the worsening economic situation in the country would hit the football market hard during the winter transfer window. “Clubs have detailed information on how the Russian economy will perform in the near future — and they act accordingly,” our national team defender Jan Durica told our paper at the end of last year. For now, they have acted in such a way that there is only one word when it comes to buying new players: saving.