Feb
3
Transfer day madness—or not.
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The transfer day deadline in Europe ended on Monday pretty much the way it began—with massive speculations going nowhere. There were almost no big movers, with even Manchester City’s 16 million Euros bid for Real Madrid midfielder Fernando Gago falling through. Elsewhere, there were small deals here and there, but almost nothing big of note.
Christiano Ronaldo’s pleas to bring Wayne Rooney to Real Madrid were shot down by ManUnited who said they would “never” sell their top striker, while Liverpool fans can both be happy and disappointed with the complete non-action their club took during this window. They held on to top players like Gerrard and Torres despite their faltering position in the league, but they were still unable to buy any new strikers to replace the often-injured Spaniard.
Things were pretty quiet in pretty much all the top European leagues, which is rather unprecedented. It shows, however, how unsure many clubs are of their financial position, and big-money risks are getting more and more dangerous. Those that do not have billionaire owners like ManCity or Chelsea are aware of mounting debts that may be their undoing, as bottom-placed Premiership club Portsmouth are a prime example of. They are now in danger of falling into administration and being penalized with 10 points by the English FA, which shows how even the world’s richest league is not immune to disasters. The fact that they were unable to offload any of their players this window will not help matters either.