“Dominance Club becomes problematic”

OTHER According to sports economist Wim Lagae, the gigantic premiums Club Brugge are racking up this year in the Champions League are potentially disruptive for the Belgian league. Bruges could be credited with as much as 60 million, and that amount could go up a lot further if the Bruges outfit were to advance another round. For Anderlecht, the European campaign in all likelihood ends with some 10 million extra in the account.


“Anderlecht has an annual budget of 106 million euros, Genk 92 million, Union even only 68. Club Brugge, on the other hand, does it with 165 million. That's a sky-high difference,” he says. 

So there is currently a gap of about 60 million with the Brusselers. Budget that, according to Lagae, can be spent on more expensive players, but especially on youth training and infrastructure. That way, the Bruges players face a dominance of several years.

Lagae also advocates the distribution of those premiums among all teams in the league. He believes UEFA should also take responsibility and stop using the “winner takes it all” principle. A better distribution leads to a stronger league and is good for everyone in the long run. The problem would be stronger in Belgium than in, say, England. There, club budgets are a lot higher anyway so Champions League money is less disruptive to the league.

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