[体育大世界]佩雷斯重金镀造皇马帝国

Meet The Biggest Spender In Sports
Florentino Perez, president of ReAl Madrid soccer club, will accept nothing short of the biggest, brashest and best soccer club that money can buy.

And therein lies the problem for this self-made billionaire. While Real Madrid fans are enjoying the Champions League with new hope and a bevy of top-dollar superstars, critics are accusing Mr. Perez of ruining the sport. European soccer's governing body, UEFA, ratified a plan this month to stop clubs from buying 'success on credit' and amassing huge debts. An even harsher accusation -- of 'financial doping' -- comes from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who Real Madrid also tried to woo.

Even many Spaniards think it's obscene to spend so much money on players at a time when the country's economy is deep in recession, with nearly 1 in 5 people unemployed.

In a rare interview, Mr. Perez justifies his massive outlays for on-field talent. 'We've given people hope and expectation at a time of economic depression,' he said from the Madrid headquarters of Grupo ACS, his construction company. 'The only thing some people have to look forward to is their Real Madrid.'

Perhaps no other man has contributed so much to making soccer the big-money sport it is today. And Real Madrid fans are eager to see Mr. Perez bring the mojo back to this iconic club. A Spanish newspaper pictured him as Moses, the sea parting beneath his feet. Indeed, the club's resurgence would mirror Mr. Perez's own rise.

Unlike much of Spain's business elite, which is dominated by wealthy clans, he worked his way up. The construction company he presides over employs 145,000 people worldwide and got rich building highways, homes and high-speed trains. Currently, he's listed by Forbes as being worth $1.8 billion.

Since his election in June, Mr. Perez spent roughly $433 million to acquire the rights to superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso and Karim Benzema.

The off-season spending spree has been compared to the one the Yankees embarked on after last season, when they committed $423 million to C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Texeira over the next eight years. However, the Yankees outlay represents all costs. On top of the $433 million Mr. Perez paid for the rights to those players, he also must pay their salaries. Mr. Ronaldo has a six-year contract worth $174 million. The contracts for the other stars are worth tens of millions more.

It wasn't the first time Mr. Perez has stunned the soccer world with astronomical salaries. During his first term as president of Real Madrid, from 2000 to 2006, he assembled a team of so-called galacticos -- or superstars -- including David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Brazil's Ronaldo. This lineup helped turn around the club's economic fortunes. Today it has the largest annual revenues of any soccer club, according to Deloitte & Touche -- some $538.1 million.

Critics say he'll never recoup the cost of the players and accuse him of loading up the club with debt. At the club's general assembly on Saturday, Mr. Perez said its debt load would rise to $480.8 million.

But he isn't throttling back his ambitions: He announced an upgrade of the Bernabeu stadium and the construction of a Disney-style theme park at the club's training grounds in Madrid.

'You invest, just like you do at a big company,' he said, comparing top players to a sort of oversize tunneling machines he buys at his construction company.

皇家马德里足球俱乐部(Real Madrid)主席弗洛伦蒂诺•佩雷斯(Florentino Perez)只接受金钱能买到的最大、最招摇也是最好的足球俱乐部。

这个白手起家的亿万富翁也面临着问题。虽然皇马球迷对冠军杯充满新的希望，诸多身价不菲的超级明星也让他们感到欣喜，但批评人士指责佩雷斯正在毁掉足球运动。欧洲足球管理机构欧洲足联(UEFA)本月批准了一项计划，防止俱乐部寅吃卯粮、债台高筑。阿森纳队(Arsenal)主教练温格(Arsene Wenger)的指责更为严厉，将其称为“金融兴奋剂”。皇家马德里也曾向他抛出了橄榄枝。

甚至很多西班牙人也认为，在该国经济深陷衰退之际，在球员身上花这么多钱实在过分。目前，西班牙几乎每五个人中就有一人失业。

佩雷斯在一次很少见的采访中为他在明星球员上的一掷千金进行了辩护。他在其ACS建筑公司(Grupo ACS)的马德里总部说，我们在经济衰退时期给人民带来希望和期待，有些人的唯一希望就是皇家马德里了。

足球如今成为需要大笔资金投入的运动，也许没有其他任何人像佩雷斯这样对足球一掷千金。皇家马德里的球迷渴望看到佩雷斯令这个标志性的俱乐部重新获得魔力。一家西班牙报纸将他画成摩西，海水在他的脚下分开。事实上，这家俱乐部的复苏也反映着佩雷斯自身的崛起。

与西班牙的多数精英企业由富有家族控制的情况不同，佩雷斯是自己发迹的。他的建筑公司目前在全球共有145,000名员工，通过建设公路、住房和高速列车而发展壮大。目前，他在《福布斯》杂志(Forbes)上的身价是18亿美元。

自6月份当选以来，佩雷斯花费约4.33亿美元买下了巨星克里斯蒂亚诺•罗纳尔多(Cristiano Ronaldo)、卡卡(Kaka)、阿隆索(Xabi Alonso)和本泽马(Karim Benzema)。

这种不合时宜的大手笔支出可以同纽约扬基棒球队（the Yankees）在上赛季结束后花4.23亿美元同萨巴西亚(C.C. Sabathia)、伯内特(A.J. Burnett)和泰克谢拉(Mark Texeira)签约8年的举措媲美。不过，扬基队的支出包括了所有费用。佩雷斯除了这4.33亿美元之外，他还要支付这些球员的工资。罗纳尔多6年的合约价值1.74亿美元。其他明星的合同价值也高达数千万美元。

这已经不是佩雷斯第一次以天价薪酬震动足球界了。在他2000年至2006年担任皇家马德里主席的第一个任期内，他组建了一只所谓的巨星队，其中包括贝克汉姆(David Beckham)、齐达内(Zinedine Zidane)、菲戈(Luis Figo)和巴西的罗纳尔多。这个阵容帮助扭转了俱乐部的经济状况。根据德勤会计师事务所(Deloitte & Touche)的数字，如今它的年收入在所有足球俱乐部名列第一，为5.381亿美元。

批评者说，他永远不会收回球员的费用，他们还指责佩雷斯让俱乐部背负了债务。在俱乐部上周六的大会上，佩雷斯称，俱乐部的负债将升至4.808亿美元。

但他并没有遏制他的勃勃雄心：他宣布将改造升级伯纳乌球场和该俱乐部在马德里训练场旁一处迪斯尼风格主题公园的建筑。

他说，投资就像是在大公司做事一样。他把顶尖选手比作是他的建筑公司所购买的特大型隧道掘进机。