With
all of the disclosure of wages this week, I though it would be interesting to
look at the wages of clubs who have won the Scudetto in recent years. How many
players on a Scudetto winning squad make €2m or more? Is it necessary to have a
lot of highly paid players, or can the trophy be won by a squad with reasonable
wages? Realistically, how much should a Scudetto Cost?
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| Is there a price for the Scudetto? |
Going back to through the past three Scudetto winners, here are the number of players for each year who made €2m or more:
2011-12 Juventus:
Buffon €6m
Amauri €4m
Pirlo €3.5
Chiellini €3.5
Iaquinta €3m
Vidal €3m
Vucinic €3m
Marchisio €2.5
Bonucci €2m
Quagliarella €2m
Lichtsteiner €2m
2010-11 Milan:
Ibra €9m
Ronaldinho €7,5m*
Pirlo €6m
Flamini €4,5m
Nesta €4,5m
Robinho €4m
Seedorf €4m
Gattuso €3,5m
Van Bommel €3,5**
Zambrotta €3,5m
Ambrosini €3m
Cassano €2,8m**
Jankulovski €2,8
Pato €2,5m
Thiago Silva €2,5m
Abbiati €2m
Bonera €2m
Inzaghi €2m
Emanuelson €2m**
*transferred out in
January
**transferred in in
January
 |
| Inter won the treble, but there was a price |
2009-10 Inter*:
Eto’o: €10,5m
Vieira: €5,5m
Lucio: €4,5m
Maicon €4,5
Julio Cesar €4m
Stankovic €4m
Sneijder €4m
Cordoba €3,5m
J. Zanetti €3,5m
Chivu €3,5m
Samuel €3,5m
Quaresma €3,5m
Mancini €3,5m
Suazo €3,5m
Thiago Motta €3m
Cambiasso €3m
Milito €3m
Muntari €2,5m
Materazzi €2,5m
*This is the squad that
won the treble
Here
are the total wage bills for each team for the year they won the Scudetto:
2012 Juventus: €100m
2011 Milan: €130m
2010 Inter: €150m (treble)
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| Juventus won the Scudetto at a bargain price |
Milan
won in 2011 with a wage bill of €130m. Last year, our wage bill was even
higher, at €160m, yet we finished 2nd with over 300 total missed matches from
that expensive squad due to injuries. We also finished second to an undefeated
Juventus squad that cost €100m but had no Champions League commitments and only
44 matches missed due to injuries. This year, our wages are reportedly €100m,
but our quality level and average age have both dropped. We face some very
stiff competition from multiple clubs this year, including Roma with a total
wage bill of €95m and Inter, whose wages also total €95. Also a possible
contender is Napoli, whose wage bill is a mere €53.2m.
How
influential will the price of wages be in determining the Scudetto this season?
Sadly, I think the cost says more about the business side of the club than the
quality of play. At least that is true for Milan. We may have dropped €40-€60m
in wages over the summer, but our quality has dropped possibly even more than
that. Certainly when you look at the teams with comparable costs, their quality
is better. In fact, clubs like Napoli, who have wages roughly half of ours
probably have comparable quality to ours.
 |
| Milan's Scudetto squad was large and expensive |
We
made a lot of progress this summer to cutting the wage bill and being ready for
Financial Fair Play (FFP.) But we also still have a long way to go to being
sustainable, and likely a ways to go to become successful again, too. But then
again, winning is more than just cost or quality. Winning is desire, mental
strength, and living up to expectations. With the biggest International trophy
collection, Milan surely have very high expectations. With so many young
players eager to prove themselves, they certainly have the desire. The mental
strength must be forged, perhaps from something like the crisis of this summer,
and tempered throughout the year, unyielding. Which means that Milan do have a chance at the Scudetto, even
if their chances on paper seem less than the other clubs.
How
much should a Scudetto cost? It isn’t necessarily measured in wages. It’s
measured in blood, sweat, and tears. Provided those aren’t a result of over 300
injuries like last season, then Milan are still in the race.
This post inspired by the music of
Ministry
Our next match is
Milan vs. Atalanta
Saturday, September 15th • 20:45 CEST (2:45pm
EDT)