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English clubs skating on thin ice, Hamann says

With rising ticket prices and foreign investors pouring huge sums of money into English Premier League sides, Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann says English clubs are skating on thin ice.

Hamann said earlier this month that the partial takeover of his Premier League club Manchester City by Sulaiman Al-Fahim was the “future” of European soccer.

But in a report that appeared on Tuesday’s Web site edition of Die Welt newspaper, he cautioned that such developments come with a high price tag.

The cheapest adult ticket for City’s Premier League match against Liverpool on Oct. 5 costs £36 (US$64) compared with 15 euros (US$21) for defending champions Bayern Munich against rivals Werder Bremen in Germany’s Bundesliga this weekend.

And ex-Liverpool defensive midfielder Hamann, 35, says the Premier League is in danger of alienating fans who may not be able to afford to see games live in the future.

“There are some games in England which are shown on free television and, for most fans, tickets are affordable,” the German told Die Welt. “But it would be a pity, of course, if normal families can’t afford to come to the games anymore. The English game is skating on thin ice in that regard. They can’t afford to lose fans, they have to be very careful there.”

Al-Fahim has invested heavily since buying shares in City earlier this month and bought Brazilian Robinho from Spanish giants Real Madrid for 42 million euros.

Fahim, one of the wealthiest men in the world, has made no secret of his desire to make City bigger than Real Madrid and Manchester United, but Hamann insists it takes more than just cash.

“Money alone does not bring success,” said Hamann, who joined City in 2006 after seven years at Anfield. “But it makes things easier. Take Chelsea for instance — they were a mediocre side before [Roman] Abramovich arrived. The biggest challenge is to get a team together who work for each other and not a team full of self-centered egos. If this can be prevented, Manchester City can be one of the best teams in Europe in five to 10 years time.”

After Al-Fahim made an audacious bid to sign Portugal midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United at the start of the month, Hamann said recruiting players for huge prices is part and parcel of modern soccer.

“It is a case of supply and demand,” the German said. “If City signs him [Ronaldo] and through football shirt sales and other income the money is recouped — why not? Whether the signing would be morally right is another question.”
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