Lausanne (AFP)
The coronavirus pandemic, which has caused the interruption of national and continental football competitions, has resulted in a drop of almost a third in the transfer value of players from the five major European championships, reveals a study published Monday.
Thus, the total transfer value of players at the level of the five major championships would decrease by 28%, from 32.7 to 23.4 billion euros, in the event that no match is played and no contract is extended until at the end of June, estimated the Football Observatory of the Center Center International d'Etude du Sport (CIES) in Neuchâtel.
Main potential victim, Olympique de Marseille whose transfer value of players would drop by 38% (loss of EUR 97 million), according to the study which relates to Germany, England, Spain, France and Italy.
Paris SG would lose EUR 302 million (-31.4%), Real Madrid EUR 350 million (-31.8%) and FC Barcelona EUR 366 million (-31.3%).
Conversely, the lowest percentage of losses would go to Stade Brestois (-16%).
Player by player, the estimated transfer value of Paul Pogba (Manchester United) "would be almost halved, going from EUR 65 million to EUR 35 million," CIES still estimates.
The magnitude of the decline varies depending on several factors "such as the age of the players, the length of the contract, career path and recent performance".
"The biggest loss in relative terms concerns aging footballers with short-term contracts who have played fewer matches in the current season than in the previous one," adds CIES.
© 2020 AFP