Arsene Wenger Levels Warning Shot Toward UEFA About Spending Policy

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has long provided a Socratic voice of dissent and warning over the recent exorbitant financial expenditure that has become standard practice for a number of top clubs throughout Europe.

With UEFA's plans to implement its fair-play initiative—an attempt to force clubs to spend only within their means through resources they generate themselves—by the start of the 2013-14 season, massive debts have nonetheless continued to rise. Not every top side has a sheik who can wipe away all debt-ridden guilt with one decisive stroke of a pen.

In a recent New York Times article about the new "It" club in Russian football, Anzhi Makhachkala, who lured star striker Samuel Eto'o from Inter Milan with a golden-laced contract proposal, Moscow-based political commentator Andrei Piontkovsky had this to say in regard to the new owner's free-spending ways:

“It’s just like he’s collecting mistresses or diamonds or yachts, just a demonstration the extent of his wealth. It’s the classic style of the nouveaux riches. There’s no soccer industry here. You can’t make money by running a team, you can only spend money.”

Piontkovsky's argument may well prove prophetic in the near future.

Wenger referenced Manchester City, Chelsea, and particularly Real Madrid and Barcelona as clubs with the kind of financial clout possible to separate themselves from the rest of the continental pack. The latter two, in particular, have enjoyed massive profits by individualizing their television rights—a different model than the one employed by the English Premier League, where teams share revenue.

Yet just as the current economic downturn has forced millions to tighten their belts, Wenger foresees a bleak near-future where a sharp European downturn could force clubs to reconsider their free-spending policies:

"I believe that Europe overall, as a unit, is going towards a massive crisis, which nobody really expects now. I am convinced that Europe will go into a huge financial crisis within the next three weeks or three months and maybe that will put everything into perspective again.

"Football is not untouchable. We live with people going to the stadiums as well and from advertising from people who buy products. All our income could be a little bit under threat in the next few months. Football is not only about money."

The impact of a potential recession on the European game could well be a drastic one, particularly with the financial fair-play regulations on the way. The UEFA is currently chronicling each team's spending tendencies through the two season before the start date.

UEFA president Michel Platini has hailed his brainchild as a means to "curb financial excess" among top clubs and foster youth development, as opposed to spending vast sums in the transfer market on older, more experienced players.

It's a noble cause, but it will be interesting to see just how realistic it proves to be.