Friday 19 December 2014 13:41, UK
The decline of the Russian economy is placing huge pressure on the country’s football clubs to meet the wage demands of their high-priced foreign imports, according to Sky sources.
Sanctions imposed by the EU and the US in the wake of Russia’s intervention in the Ukrainian crisis have caused the value of the Russian ruble to plummet to its lowest value in over a decade.
The ruble has depreciated in value against the US dollar by 82 per cent since July 9 and this has had huge repercussions for Russian football clubs.
Currently, approximately 90 per cent of foreign players are paid in euros or dollars while the majority of the clubs’ income comes in rubles.
The economic crisis is making it increasingly difficult for Russian clubs to meet their wage bill and this is likely to have far-reaching implications for the European transfer market as a whole.
There are many big-name foreign players on the books of leading Russian clubs, with the likes of Ezequiel Garay, Axel Witsel, Hulk and Danny all on big money at Zenit St Petersburg, and Mathieu Valbuena and Christopher Samba on the books of Dinamo Moscow.
"Russian clubs will have to tighten their purse strings,” a leading Russian sports expert told Sky Sports News HQ.
“Contracts will have to be honoured so it's unlikely there will be an exodus in January - but contracts may not be renewed and players not be replaced with foreign stars".
The economic crisis has also had a large impact on the finances of Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Usmanov lost £518m of his estimated £8.5 billion fortune in a turbulent 48-hour period this week while Abramovich saw his net worth depreciate by £288m pounds to £8.2 billion over the same time frame.
With the EU agreeing on more sanctions in Brussels this week, the fortunes of both billionaires are likely to continue to be adversely effected.
The decline in the ruble’s value is also hindering Russia’s preparations for the 2018 World Cup.
Vladimir Putin has promised to deliver 11 venues across the country but the financial crisis is making the cost of hiring international contractors prohibitive.
However, Sky sources were adamant the Russian President will ensure it goes ahead as planned: "Putin's put his name to this - so he would dip into the foreign reserves if needed to - to ensure the World Cup went ahead."
