2019-04-01 World Soccer

N

ecessity is the mother of

invention” goes the well-

known proverb, and the

phrase certainly applies

to the complicated football business

of team-building and sticking to a

less-than-ideal recruitment budget.

Big beasts such as Real Madrid,

Barcelona, Manchester United,

Manchester City and Paris Saint-

Germain – all of whom enjoy annual

revenues of between €520-676million

• can more or less buy any player they
  desire. Money is no object.
  By way of contrast, clubs without
  billionaire or oligarch backing have
  to cut their cloth accordingly and an
  entirely different approach is required,

SCOUTING

FOR BUSINESS

Clever talent spotting and sharp transfer dealing

has enabled Porto, Lyon, Borussia Dortmund

and Ajax to compete with Europe’s super elite

Words: Nick Bidwell

“

SPECIAL

FEATURE