The money-making machine that crushes players

BarcelonaThe creation of the Nations League responded to a dual interest: sporting and economic. UEFA saw a business opportunity in launching a new competition in which teams would face each other based on their actual level. It was a way to replace friendlies. Furthermore, since the tournament was managed by UEFA, it was responsible for marketing its image rights in exchange for distributing substantial prizes among the participants. The invention has been a success, and the premise of offering close matches has been fully fulfilled. Three of the four quarterfinal ties have been eliminated. have been resolved in the extension. And in the other, Germany-Italy, it was a matter of a goal that the same didn't happen.

The national teams make money with a prize pool that maintains a format similar to that of the Champions League. In the case of Spain, which won the 2023 edition, it is in League A and receives 1.5 million for participating. Then there are prizes for victories in the group stage, a bonus for the quarterfinals, and different revenues depending on the final ranking. UEFA has not yet made the money public—it will ultimately depend on the profit obtained from television rights and ticket sales for the final four, which will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Two years ago, Spain earned 10.5 million: 4.5 million for the group stage and quarterfinals, and 6 million for winning the final phase. Croatia, runners-up, received 9. Italy 8 and the Netherlands 7.

The problem is the accumulation of minutes and the wear and tear on the players. The schedule is so tight that every little detail matters. While extra time delighted many fans, fitness coaches clutched their heads and prayed for no injuries. Some teams suggested skipping that extra time and going straight to penalties, but UEFA decided to stick with the traditional format.

Cubarsí, the first (and so far only) Barça absence

In the key of Barça, the international strike It started badly, since Cubarsí He had to come off after 40 minutes of Thursday's match against the Netherlands. Fortunately for the centre-back, the name of his injury is more complex than the problem itself: he has a strained anterior tibiofibular ligament in his right ankle. In fact, he is not ruled out for Thursday's match against Osasuna.

A good number of the players returned to Barcelona on Monday. They had a day's rest, and on Tuesday they will join Hansi Flick's orders. One of those who have returned is Jules Kounde, who celebrated France's qualification for the Nations League final four in the penalty shootout, despite missing one of his shots. The defender played the entire match and extra time against Croatia, having already played in the first leg. 210 minutes in total, the most of any Barça player. He was followed by Lamine Yamal, with 186 minutes, who scored a superb goal in extra time for Spain but missed one of the penalty kicks in the shootout. The red one They qualified by beating Frenkie de Jong's Netherlands, who played 179 minutes between the two matches. Dani Olmo (108), Pedri (102) and Ferran Torres (51) are the other players who featured in this tie.

All of them have played two matches, except for Héctor Fort, who is called up for the U-19 national team. The full-back has accumulated 138 minutes but still has the European Championship qualifier against Lithuania pending. These are the most affected by the strike, awaiting the match between the South Americans this Tuesday: Brazilian Raphinha visits Argentina and Uruguayan Araujo travels to Bolivia. Both played 90 minutes in the first match. Lewandowski, in turn, plays this Monday in Poland against Malta (86 minutes in the first match). Finally, there are three other Barça players in the Spanish U-21 team who also have a match on Tuesday, albeit a friendly, in Germany. They are Fermín (75 minutes so far), Gerard Martín (75), and Pablo Torre (25).