Galactic recession

If the world is experiencing its worst economic slump since the great crash of the 1930's how come Real Madrid are busting all records in the purchase of new players?

Well, there are at least two answers to that. The first has to do with the paranormal global phenomenon that is football; the second with the nature of Real's ambitious, canny, mightily driven president, Florentino Pérez, who in the last week has spent in excess of 160 million euros buying two of the world's three best players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká.

For true believers, of whom there are hundreds if not thousands of millions in the world, football is not an option, it's a basic need. You can choose whether you buy yourself the latest gizmo-filled mobile phone, or whether you drink whisky or beer, or whether you buy yourself a crisp new shirt.

You cannot choose whether you mean to follow the English and Spanish leagues on TV next season, or glue your eyes on next year's World Cup. Life would be shorn of meaning without the art and the drama, the fun and the passion football provides. The true football believer can no more imagine missing out on the Barcelona-Real Madrid league games next season than a devout Christian can imagine a week without church.

What does all this have to do with money? A lot. The vast numbers of eyeballs that are attracted to football attract, in turn, vast sums of money from advertisers and sponsors who need their brands to be seen, known and loved. If, in addition, you associate your corporate name - Coca Cola, Nike, Audi, whoever - with a club or a player that have huge global recognition and sex-appeal, then you boost the power of your brand and people buy more Cokes, more Nike shoes, more Audi cars.

This is precisely the logic (to come to the second answer to the question posed at the beginning) that drives Real Madrid. Perez, a construction tycoon in his own right outside football, has a mantra. It goes: the most expensive is the cheapest. He applies that logic to the purchase of the most expensive tunnel boring equipment in his normal business life, because it will last longer and do the job more quickly and efficiently.

And he applies it to the purchase off Cristiano and Kaká, as he did during a previous run in the Real presidency, when he smashed the then world transfer record to buy Zidane, as well as the other three "galácticos", Figo, Beckham and the Brazilian Ronaldo.

What Perez found the first time around was that he could translate the acquisition of these big name players (among the best known people in the world) into big money. The sponsorship deals he made after he had bought them brought in far more money than the club would have been able to attract on the strength of their (considerable) name alone.

Between Pérez arriving at Real in 2000 and leaving in 2006, he tripled the club's income. Now he's back and, with his new galácticos on board, expect income to soar once again. Because the big truth Pérez understands is that buying Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká is much more than an expense; it's an investment.