FC PORTO: THE PLAYERS INVESTMENT KINGS

When it comes to the football powerhouses in terms of history, titles and club strength, FC Porto would not be the first club to pop in one’s mind, but they have mastered a certain aspect of the sport being the transfer market.

The transfer market is one whereby player’s services especially are exchanged for a fee, for another player or both, as the case maybe.  The transfer market importance cannot be overemphasized as very good deal/deals can be the difference in a team going all the way to win a domestic or continental title. A good example is Robin Van Persie’s summer move to Manchester United in July 2012 which fans and pundits believe was the missing link in the united squad and eventually Manchester United went on to win the league in the 2012/2013 season.

Asides winning of titles, a proper understanding of the transfer market could yield a whole lot of income for a club. A football club being also an investment like any other also has a back room target of yielding profits as much as possible. This is achievable through brokering of deals with sponsors, match day tickets sales, and other franchise of such football club.  Another way income is generated is through the sale of players, which is why the board of a club would accept an offer for a player if they regard such as a “very good business”, even when the manager would ordinarily wish to keep a hold of that player. The best form of player’s investment is the purchasing of young talented unknown players for a token fee, and with the right guidance, they turn out to be very good players, world class players, and possibly legends of the sport.

FC Porto, can as well be deemed the masters of transfer market as for the past decade, they have generated a huge income from players sales more than any football club globally. They usually purchase young prospects (majority of them are South Americans), and eventually in some cases, sell them up to seven times the amount it cost them to acquire such players. The scouting team of FC Porto has to be commended as the club would always have a decent team capable of competing for honors and qualifying for the UEFA Champions League where they also generate revenue from by participating, despite selling their best players over the years. Below are some of FC Porto players sales of the past decade and the cost of acquiring them.

• Paulo Ferreira [bought for €2 Million] [sold for €20 Million]
• Ricardo Carvalho [bought for free] [sold for €30 Million]
• Deco [bought for €8 Million] [sold for €21 Million]
• Maniche [bought for free] [sold for €16 Million]
• Anderson [bought for €5 Million] [sold for €32 Million]
• Pepe [bought for €2 Million] [sold for €30 Million]
• Quaresma [bought for €6 Million] [sold for €25 Million]
• Bosingwa [bought for €1 Million] [sold for €21 Million]
• Aly Cissokho [bought for €0.3 Million] [sold for €15 Million]
• Lisandro Lopez [bought for €2 Million] [sold for €24 Million]
• Lucho Gonzalez [bought for €10 Million] [sold for €18 Million]
• Bruno Alves [started his career at Porto] [sold for €22 Million]
• Raul Meireles [bought for free] [sold for €13 Million]
• Falcao [bought for €5.5 Million] [sold for €47 Million]
• Hulk [bought for €5.5 Million] [sold for €56 Million]
• Freddy Guarin [bought for €1 Million] [sold for €13 Million]
• James Rodriguez [bought for €7 Million] [sold for €45 Million] 
• Joao Moutinho [bought for €11 Million] [sold for €25 Million]