经济学人:肥水却流外人田 法国能重金挽留球星吗?

 　　Europe France and football

　　欧洲 法国和足球

　　The Swedish model

　　瑞典模式

　　A football club mirrors many French anxieties

　　足球俱乐部折射出许多法式忧虑

　　A literary sensation too

　　浓郁的文学气息

　　When the Qataris last year bought Paris SaintGermain (PSG), the French capital’s premier¹ football club, it touched a raw enough nerve. This is a country, after all, which once declared yogurt-making a strategic industry in need of protection from foreign takeovers. Liberation, a left-wing newspaper, denounced the small Gulf² state’s “ferocious appetite for power and influence”, and warned that “bling-bling football” was on its way to France. Nearly 18 months later, many French anxieties—over wealth, taxes, capitalism³ or free trade—are exemplified by PSG’s fortunes.

　　去年卡塔尔人收购了法国目前最炙手可热的足球俱乐部——巴黎圣日耳曼(PSG) 队后，再一次触动了原本就脆弱的法国人的神经。毕竟这个国家曾经为了避免异国人士收购一个制作酸奶的产业，而采取过战略保护措施。法国左翼媒体——《解放报》谴责小海湾国家的行为是“对政权和相关影响都是极大地冲击”，并且强烈声明只有在法国，俱乐部才会“闪耀着璀璨光辉”。然而在18个月后，在PSG被收购引发并加强了法国人民对财产，税收以及资本主义自由贸易的担心。

　　Short of the sort of cash that has been sloshing around other European football leagues, the French have traditionally exported talent, often to England. Stadiums are rarely full; no French club has won the European Champions’ League for nearly 20 years. Now the country has become an importer too. Supplied with a fat chequebook by the Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund, PSG has gone on a shopping spree. After bagging an Italian manager, it splashed out on two Brazilians, an Argentinian, an Italian and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a Swedish striker whose father was a Bosnian Muslim and mother a Croat.

　　伴随着法国足球界流动资金短缺，那些有天赋的法国足球运动员总是成为其他国家的联赛足球外援，比如去英超踢球。足球厂很少有客满的时候，而在近20年中，没有任何一家法国俱乐部赢得了欧洲冠军联赛冠军。现如今，这个国家也已然成为了一个进口大国。与卡塔尔投资局——一个财大气粗的财团达成合作协议，PSG俱乐部也开始了队外援的疯狂引进计划。在引进了一名意大利管理人员，他开始了疯狂的人才引进计划，随后引进了两名巴西，一名阿根廷以及一名意大利外援。除此之外，瑞典前锋伊布也被法足联收入囊中，他的父亲是一名波斯尼亚穆斯林，而其母亲是克罗地亚人。

　　To French eyes, the yearly salary reportedly promised to Mr Ibrahimovic—some 14m ($18m), said the French press in August, or closer to 9m according to Le Parisien newspaper last month—was shocking. The French like wealth only when it is discreet⁴ and do not care much for the fast cars and flashy nightlife that seems to go with high-level football. They elected a president, Francois Hollande, a Socialist⁵ who once said he didn’t like the rich and promised during his campaign to tax salaries of over 1m at 75%. Predictably, politicians decried⁶ the footballer’s extravagant⁷ pay. “Indecent”, given the economic crisis, declared Jercme Cahuzac, the budget minister.

　　根据法国媒体的相关消息，伊布的年薪约有1400万欧元（约为1800万美元），或者就像《巴黎人报》上月报道的接近900万欧元，但无论是哪一种都足够让人震惊。法国人在金钱方面还是很节俭的 不过多关注于高级轿车和浮华的夜生活，似乎看起来全部付诸于高水平的足球了。而他们选举出来的新任总统——社会党人Francois Hollande在竞选的时候称自己不喜欢富人，并承诺一旦当选将会对年薪超过100万欧元的收入人群征收边际税率高达75%的所得税。可以预料得到，政客们将会谴责球星高昂的收入，预算部长Jercme Cahuzac称“这是不妥的”并将加剧经济危机。

　　Parliament has just approved the new top tax rate. French business is dismayed. But it will do little to dampen footballers’ take-home pay: the Qataris are guaranteeing Mr Ibrahimovic’s salary, net. Whether Parisians can overcome their distaste for the vulgarisation of sport and the inequalities that such largesse⁸ brings will depend partly on performance on the pitch. So far, Mr Ibrahimovic has scored nine goals in eight league matches; PSG tops the league. Should his feet fail him, though, the Swede may just find other ways to charm the French. On October 22nd his autobiography⁹ was shortlisted for Sweden’s smartest literary prize—just the sort of non-financial success that Parisians truly cherish.

　　国会也通过了新的最高税率。整个国内的商界都为之沮丧。但是却不能对足球运动员的收入造成任何的影响：卡塔尔财团已经保证了伊布的净工资。由于足球运动员收入仍然很高，巴黎人就产生了不公平等想法，他们能否客服这些想法就取决于运动员们在球场上的表现了。到目前为止，伊布在本赛季进行的8场联赛中已打入9粒进球，PSG也位列联赛排行榜首席。即使伊布表现不佳，踢得不好，但是这位瑞典人将会用他自己的方式在法国星光熠熠。10月22日，他的自传入选为瑞典最具智慧大奖——而法国人真正珍惜的正是这种非金融式的成功。

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

4 discreet   

adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的

参考例句：

• He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
• It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

5 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

6 decried   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The measures were decried as useless. 这些措施受到指责，说是不起作用。
• The old poet decried the mediocrity of today's writing. 老诗人抨击了现代文体的平庸无奇。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

8 largesse   

n.慷慨援助，施舍

参考例句：

• She is not noted for her largesse.没人听说过她出手大方。
• Our people are in no need of richer nations' largesse.我国人民不需要富国的施舍。

9 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。