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'I've never seen a bag of money score a goal'

The authoritative Swiss Ramble looks at the finances of the semi-finalists in the Champions League and Europa League. He notes, 'The Champions League has the “fairest” financial pairings, as it matches the clubs with the highest and 2nd highest revenues, then 3rd and 4th. However, the differences are still huge: Barcelona £612m is £150m more than Liverpool £455m; while Spurs £379m is nearly five times Ajax £81m.'

'It’s a similar story [in the] Champions League with wages. Barcelona’s £431m (excluding other sports such as basketball and handball) is again over £150m higher than Liverpool £264m, while Spurs £148m might be low for a leading Premier League club, but it is triple Ajax £47m.'

Based just on the financials, the English teams should reach the Europa League final in Baku, as their revenue is around four times as much as their opponents: Chelsea £448m vs Eintracht Frankfurt £103m; Arsenal £389m vs Valencia £98m. The differences in wages for the Europa League semi-finalists are also substantial: Chelsea £244m is over five times as much as Eintracht Frankfurt £45m; while Arsenal £223m is nearly three times as much as Valencia £77m.

The Swiss Ramble concludes, 'Money talks, so the outcome of the European semi-finals seems clear, based on the finances, but it’s still no guarantee of success on the pitch. As the late, very great Johan Cruyff once said, “Why couldn’t you beat a richer club? I’ve never seen a bag of money score a goal.”'

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