Do money-spinning tours cost Europe's top soccer clubs?

Arsenal's shirts were adorned with their names and sponsor in Mandarin during a recent tour of China. (Getty)

For years, Europe’s top clubs have complained that seasons are too long; that there are too many matches. Some of them have elected to defend themselves from gruelling calendars by fielding reserve players for domestic cup games in order to keep their stars fit.

The club versus country row has also rumbled on for various seasons. Recently, the European Club Association (ECA) managed to reduce the number of international breaks from 12 to nine per two-year period.

The ECA hailed this reduction as a major breakthrough and said they were doing their best to protect the clubs and their players from exhaustion.

Now, as much as I agree that players are forced to play too many games every season, I believe clubs haven’t done their best to protect their assets.

On the contrary, they have contributed to their players’ fatigue by forcing them to go on long and tiring postseason tours of far away continents.

Right now, the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, among many others, are playing friendly matches in the United States and Asia.

It begs the question - wouldn’t players be better prepared for a new campaign if they stayed close to home, avoiding thousands of miles of travel and jet lag?

There is one reason why clubs decide to go on preseason tours - money. All of them are paid millions of dollars to travel to other continents to play friendlies.

It is difficult to find the exact amounts these European giants are paid to travel, but here are some numbers I found.

• Barcelona were paid $1.7 million to play a friendly against Hamburg this summer. The Spanish club actually ended up losing $490,000 because Leo Messi was injured and couldn’t play. There was a clause in the contract that stipulated the Argentine star had to be on the field for Barca to get the whole amount.
• Real Madrid were paid $.37 million to play a friendly in Kuwait at the end of last season. After an exhausting campaign, the club forced the team to travel to the Middle East in exchange for a big pay day.
• Bayern Munich were reportedly paid over $6 million for a tour of China this summer. It was their third trip to Asia in the last 12 years.

Besides the appearance fees the clubs get, their increased popularity in the region also generates other revenue. For example, merchandise sales go up and so does the amount of money a lot of them can earn from selling TV rights.

In today’s football market we all know that money talks. Take a look at what the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have done in the recent past.

If you have the cash, you will get the best players and consequently have the best chances of silverware. However, do clubs really need to travel these enormous distances every season to boost their bank accounts?

My belief is that they don’t. Of course it’s great people in the United States and Asia get to see some of the best footballers on the planet in action, but isn’t that what the World Cup is for, to expose football to different markets?

In my opinion, clubs need to revise their offseason plans if they are truly interested in protecting their players from fatigue. They can’t battle FIFA and the national federations on one side and then sell their principles for money on the other.

Plus - if they want to continue touring, can they not do so once every three or five years? There are enough top teams in Europe where there could be a rotation in travel plans.

One final thought. If it’s about the cash, and it clearly is, should clubs consider taking certain competitions more seriously?

There is prize money to be won in domestic cups and the Europa League, for example. If clubs fielded their best players, they would stand a better chance of making some extra funds.

Will big football clubs beat Financial Fair Play rules?

Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has symbolized PSG's lavish spending. (Getty Images)

Chelsea sign Gazprom as a new energy partner. Inter Milan sell a stake in the club to Chinese investors. Manchester City bank a record sponsorship deal with Etihad.

Yes, many of Europe’s top clubs are already looking for ways around UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

What UEFA wants to do is easy to understand. European football’s governing body is aiming to level the playing field and stop the rich becoming richer, and the poor becoming poorer.

That is why it has introduced FFP, which is supposed to regulate clubs’ debts and control personal investments made by billionaire owners.

The rules state that if clubs incur losses of more than $60 million over a three-year period, they will be subjected to heavy penalties, including exclusion from the premier Champions League competition.

The first assessment will take place after the 2013-2014 season, and clubs are already being judged on income and expenditure.

The world's best-paid sports teams

It is no coincidence, then, that many are trying to find loopholes in the laws. Over the past couple of seasons, in addition to the cases mentioned above, we have seen Barcelona sign their first ever shirt sponsorship deal, Manchester United looking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from a U.S. share offering, and even AC Milan chairman Silvio Berlusconi exploring options of Russian investment through his good friend Vladimir Putin.

What will be interesting to see is how creative teams will be in order to keep up their spending ways. I believe the top clubs will always find a way to live above the rules, or at least find a way to circumvent them.

Which brings us to Paris Saint-Germain. The question is - what are they thinking? If you take into account how much money the French club's Qatari owners are spending, there is no way they are complying with FFP at all. So let’s look at their options.

First of all, PSG are already making the most of the fact their chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi is also the owner of TV channel Al Jazeera. The Middle East-based network has paid a fortune for the rights to broadcast France’s Ligue 1, and a big chunk of that money will go to the Parisiens.

Will football clubs play fair financially?

I am also expecting PSG to sign a naming rights deal for their stadium, possibly with a Qatari-based company, and even get a few new commercial partners to boost their yearly income.

It is the only way they will come close to balancing the books after spending over $150 million during the current transfer window.

So what is the moral of the story? It is my belief FFP may have some effect on European football in the future, and may help in some areas of the game, but there is no way that it will change its landscape.

At the end of the day, big clubs are like top brands and they will always find a way to make money. Whether it is by a sponsorship deal, a preseason tour or investment by new partners, the options are there to be exploited.

Which clubs will win Europe's league titles this season?

Arsene Wenger, left, Cristiano Ronaldo, center, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be key figures this season.

With the new European club football campaign upon us, it’s time to look into the future and predict what the new season will bring.

Can last season's champions maintain their momentum? Who will be the key players, and what will be the main stories of the 2012-13 campaign?

Here are my picks for the continent’s top five leagues; have your say in the comments box below.

Spanish La Liga

Champions: Real Madrid. They are the finished article and as they enter their third season under Jose Mourinho I believe they have become even stronger than last season. There has been a shift in the balance of power and I think Los Blancos will hold onto their top spot this year. Led by Cristiano Ronaldo, they have all the weapons necessary to shoot down Barcelona once again.

As far as the Catalans are concerned, I think they will fall short. I am not convinced Tito Vilanova can easily step into Pep Guardiola’s shoes and have the same influence as his mentor did on the team. Most of Barca’s players have won it all, and I don’t think Vilanova is the right man to motivate them right now. Then again, when you have Leo Messi, anything is possible, right?

Top 4: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Valencia.

Story to follow: Ronaldo vs. Messi. Last season, they scored a combined 96 goals in La Liga. Messi, who finished the campaign with 50, outscored 15 teams on his own. The question this year is what can these two extra-terrestrials do for an encore? I will be watching closely.

English Premier League

Champions: Manchester City. On paper they have by far the strongest squad in the country. Last season, even though Roberto Mancini mismanaged several situations, including the Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez disciplinary issues, they still managed to finish on top. Therefore, with the momentum and confidence gained from that title, they will be tough to stop.

As far as challengers are concerned, Manchester United will again lead the charge although they should have strengthened their midfield. I can’t believe Alex Ferguson has spent so much on a striker in Robin van Persie when he needed a world-class playmaker.

Top 4: Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool.

Story to follow: Last chance for Arsene Wenger? I know for a fact that several players at Arsenal have lost faith in the manager’s philosophy and his project. You can’t lose your top players every year and believe that you still know what you’re doing. Wenger has been a fantastic manager but seven years without a trophy is too long and the time has come for him to step aside.

Italian Serie A

Champions: Napoli. I know it’s a controversial pick, but I have arguments to defend my case. First of all, this team has enjoyed more stability than any other in Italy, having kept most of their star players. Yes, they did sell Ezequiel Lavezzi but they have Goran Pandev, who is almost as good. They have added some depth to the squad and will benefit from the fact champions Juventus are in internal turmoil due to coach Antonio Conte’s involvement in a match-fixing scandal.

Regarding both Milan giants, I think they will play a peripheral role this year. AC Milan are rebuilding and have lost two world-class players in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva. Meanwhile Inter have changed managers more often than Massimo Moratti changes shirts and there is no continuity at the Nerazzuri.

Top 4: Napoli, Juventus, Inter, Roma.

Story to follow: Conte's ban. The Juventus manager was suspended for 10 months for failing to report attempts to fix matches while he was at Siena. He won’t be able to sit on the Juve bench but he will be involved in training. How much impact will this have on the Bianconeri's season? The answer to that question will affect this season’s title race.

German Bundesliga

Champions: Bayern Munich. After two years playing second fiddle to Borussia Dortmund, the Bavarians will celebrate a 23rd domestic title this season. Bayern can still rely mostly on the same group of players, including Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez - who make up one of the most explosive attacking trios on the planet. I also expect Croatia striker Marko Mandzukic to play a key role as well after his move from Wolfsburg.

I expect Dortmund to falter a little after enjoying so much success. In my mind they will focus mainly on the Champions League, where they haven’t made an impact in a long time.

Top 4: Bayern Munich, Dortmund, Schalke, Wolfsburg.

Story to follow: Greuther Furth. Who? Exactly. This smalltown club is the latest in a series of low-profile sides to be promoted to the Bundesliga. It will be their first ever appearance in Germany’s top flight and their claim to fame is that the town is home to Playmobil. Yes, I played with those toys when I was a kid, maybe you did too.

French Ligue 1

Champions: Paris Saint-Germain. Who else? Since Qatar Investment Authority bought the club two years ago, $300 million has been spent on strengthening the squad. Their team is so much stronger than any other in France that it will be a major shock if they fail to win their first title since 1994. Manager Carlo Ancelotti surely believes anything else but first place is a failure after being runners-up in 2011-12.

Even though they are overwhelming favourites, PSG should still not take anything for granted. As Montpellier proved last year, David can beat Goliath. This season Lille and Lyon could cause a surprise or two, so watch out for them.

Top 4: PSG, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux.

Story to follow: Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He earns more money than anyone else in France and his ego is bigger than life, so how can he be controlled? Judging from previous incidents throughout his career, the  striker will definitely be at the center of attention for all the good or bad reasons. How Ancelotti deals with the big Swede will go a long way to deciding if PSG can live up to expectations and win the league.