经济学人483:足球转会

 　　Football transfers

　　足球转会

　　Reassuringly¹ expensive

　　天价

　　The financial gulf² between English clubs and the rest of Europe is growing

　　英国足球俱乐部与欧洲其他俱乐部财力差距正在拉大。

　　Sep 7th 2013 |From the print edition

　　FOOTBALL’S transfer window may almost be viewed as a sport in its own right. Twice a year, in January and for two months during the summer, European clubs frantically³ buy and sell players. When the window slams shut, as it did on September 2nd, they are stuck with the squads⁴ they have assembled until the next one opens. Meanwhile, pundits⁵ pore over the transfer-market winners and losers, much as they would a weekend’s fixtures⁶.

　　球员转会窗口的竞争都可以当作一项运动了。欧洲各俱乐部在每年的一月和夏季的两个月疯狂的买卖球员。当转会窗口关闭后，这次关闭是在9月2号，球队就定型了，只能等下次窗口再度开放才能重组。与此同时，专家们则研究转会市场的胜败双方，跟看周末球赛一样热情。

　　This summer English Premier⁷ League (EPL) clubs did record business. According to Deloitte, a professional-services firm, they spent a combined P 630m (dollars 985m) on new players. This is a new record, and far outstrips⁸ spending in other countries. The window’s most eye-catching deal, though, involved a player leaving England’s shores. The protracted⁹ pursuit of Gareth Bale, a Tottenham Hotspur forward, by Real Madrid, a Spanish club, ended only when the clubs agreed on a world-record P 85m fee.

　　今年夏天英超的球队做了破纪录的交易。根据德勤公司的统计数据，英超球队总共在新球员身上花费了6.3亿英镑，也就是9.85亿美元。这是一项新记录，远远将其他国家甩在身后。最引人注意的交易是一项英格兰本土与外国的交易。西班牙的皇家马德里俱乐部在追随了托特纳姆热刺的前锋贝尔之后，终于达成了一项破世界纪录的8500万英镑的交易。

　　Still, England remains¹⁰ football’s financial powerhouse. Net transfer spending by the EPL—the amount, after deals between English clubs has been stripped out, which flowed abroad—was P 370m. This compares with P 130m in France’s Ligue 1 and a P 95m surplus in Spain’s La Liga.

　　目前，英格兰仍然是足球界的金融中心。英超球员转会开支达到了3.7亿英镑，这仅仅是刨除国内交易后的国际交易。相比之下，法甲的转会费是1.3亿英镑，西甲的转会费只有9500亿英镑。

　　The main reason for EPL’s continued clout¹¹ is a huge new television deal shared between British Telecom and BSkyB, which will run for the next three seasons. That will be worth an extra P 500m to the EPL this year, with each club on average P 25m better off. In 2011-12, the last season for which accounts are available, broadcasting accounted for half of the clubs’ combined P 2.4 billion revenue. The remainder was split between match-day revenue—mostly gate receipts—and commercial activities, such as sponsorship and merchandising. Deloitte estimates that, for the coming season, the clubs’ revenue will increase to P 3.1 billion, with the proportion coming from broadcasting rising to 55%.

　　英超大力引援的主要原因是英国电信公司与英国天空广播公司已经达成了新的巨额电视转播合同，签下了未来三个赛季的转播。预计这将会给英超带来5亿英镑的盈利，每个俱乐部平均获利2500万英镑。上赛季数据显示，广播节目带来的收入占总盈利24亿英镑的一半。另一半收入来自比赛日收入，主要是门票收入，以及商业活动，例如赞助和广告。德勤预计接下来的赛季，英超盈利将会随着广播节目所占比例55%的提升而达到31亿英镑。

　　Much of the new money will go directly to the players. In the 2011-12 season, EPL clubs shelled out P 1.65 billion on wages. This is likely to grow to P 2.2 billion for the coming season. The best performers earn well over P 100,000 a week; Mr Bale’s pay could be around P 300,000.

　　大量的新增资金直接进入球员口袋。11到12赛季，英超俱乐部总共发放了16.5亿英镑的工资。下赛季可能会增至22亿英镑。顶级球员们周薪超多10万英镑，而贝尔的周薪能达到30万英镑。

　　Yet despite the arresting figures, the days of clubs living beyond their means are coming to end. From this season, premier-league clubs will be bound by two sets of “financial fair play” rules. The first, implemented¹² by UEFA, the European game’s governing body, looks at clubs’ finances over a three-year period and limits their permitted losses to euros45m (dollars 59m). Clubs that flout¹³ this will be subject to punishments ranging from a warning to a fine to being banned from European competitions. The EPL has also brought in its own rules. These allow clubs more leeway with their debt, but restrict increases to clubs’ wage bills to P 4m, unless they can secure new commercial deals. Teams that break these rules face a ban on transfer activity and will have points docked.

　　尽管面临这些天文数字，但是俱乐部正在摆脱亏损。从这个赛季开始，英超各球队将受两套财政性公平竞争规则限制。第一套规则由欧足联负责执行。三年一个周期，监督监察各俱乐部财务状况。限制开支赤字不得高于4500万欧元，也就是5900万美元。无视此法规者将受到惩罚，轻则警告罚款，重则取消欧洲赛事参赛资格。同时，英超也制定了一套规则，允许俱乐部有一定的债务自由，但是规定工资涨幅不得超过400万英镑，除非增加新的商业交易。违反这些规则的球队将面临禁止转会的处分，还会扣除积分。

　　Increased revenue means that most English clubs will comply with both rules. There is, however, uncertainty¹⁴ about Manchester City, a big-spending team owned by Sheikh Mansour, an Abu Dhabi royal. Its lavish¹⁵ transfer fees—the highest in the EPL—are funded, in part, by a P 400m sponsorship deal with Etihad, Abu Dhabi’s state airline. Under UEFA’s rules, it must prove that the airline has not paid more than the market value. Industry watchers are divided as to whether they will succeed. UEFA’s verdict is expected next year. Success on the pitch may now be determined¹⁶ as much by accountants and lawyers as by footballers and managers.

　　利润上涨意味着英超各俱乐部将会配合以上规则。然而，阿布手下开支巨大的曼城就不一定会遵守这些规定了。曼城是英超转会费最高的球队，资金部分来自于阿布的国家航空公司阿联酋航空4亿英镑的赞助。根据欧足联规定，曼城必须证明该航空公司所给赞助费未超过球队的市场价值。新规定能否会成功仍有争论。欧足联将会在明年推选一名裁判。看来，球队的成功不再只靠球员和教练了，还要有会计和律师助力。

1 reassuringly   

ad.安心，可靠

参考例句：

• He patted her knee reassuringly. 他轻拍她的膝盖让她放心。
• The doctor smiled reassuringly. 医生笑了笑，让人心里很踏实。

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 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

4 squads   

n.（军队中的）班( squad的名词复数 )；（暗杀）小组；体育运动的运动（代表）队；（对付某类犯罪活动的）警察队伍

参考例句：

• Anti-riot squads were called out to deal with the situation. 防暴队奉命出动以对付这一局势。 来自辞典例句
• Three squads constitute a platoon. 三个班组成一个排。 来自辞典例句

5 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

6 fixtures   

（房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动

参考例句：

• The insurance policy covers the building and any fixtures contained therein. 保险单为这座大楼及其中所有的设施保了险。
• The fixtures had already been sold and the sum divided. 固定设备已经卖了，钱也分了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

7 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。

8 outstrips   

v.做得比…更好，（在赛跑等中）超过( outstrip的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Technology daily outstrips the ability of our institutions to cope with its fruits. 技术发展的速度超过了我们的制度所能应付其成果的程度。 来自辞典例句
• The significance of the foreign exchange market outstrips its impressive size. 外汇市场的意义超出了它给人的印象尺度。 来自互联网

9 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

12 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

13 flout   

v./n.嘲弄，愚弄，轻视

参考例句：

• Parents who flout Family Court orders may be named in the media in Australia.在澳洲父母亲若是藐视家庭法庭的裁定可能在媒体上被公布姓名。
• The foolish boy flouted his mother's advice.这个愚蠢的孩子轻视他母亲的劝告。

14 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

15 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

16 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。