This essay will be focussing on whether footballers are paid obscene amounts of money for their jobs or whether it is a reasonable amount of money to give gifted sportsmen with limited careers in their sport.
Firstly a footballer’s career is a short one, from as young as 16 to as old as 40 (usually only ranging to about the age of 35). Many people would agree that, with their careers being so short lived and the amount of rigorous hours spent on the ‘training pitch’, that the amount of money that they collect weekly is deserved. Football is a private business and each club is free to decide how much money they pay each player, according to how good they are. E.g. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool Captain and England International) is paid an estimated 100,000 pounds a week whereas a youngster (like Emiliano Insua) gets paid substantially less due to differences in age and levels of performance.
Football is a more than just a sport; it is also there to entertain the supporters, so a club will buy whichever footballer they feel appropriate to do that job. An example of this is Manchester City’s record signing, (to date) of Robinho who was bought to the club for a British record of £32.5 million pounds from Spanish side Real Madrid. People also believe that the money that these professionals get is justified as they play under stressful circumstances, for instance, the pressure they may be under to make sure they get in to the starting eleven. Additionally, there is the pressure to perform as a team, whether that is to win the League (for the top 4-5 teams), to make European qualification, or, perhaps even more stressful, to avoid being relegated.
On the other hand, many people would argue that it is ‘just’ a sport and that they are getting paid ridiculous amount of money ‘just to kick a ball around’. Some Footballers’ weekly salary is more than what some people might get paid in an entire year. In any case, these salaries are thought by many to be excessive,...