I’ve been saying for several years now that the influx of billionaires into football is going to end up ruining the game. And the majority of people I speak to tend to agree with me. But for those who don’t, I think you should take a little look at French football to see just what sort of damage can be caused by benefactors with bottomless pockets.

Last weekend, Paris Saint-Germain were crowned champions of Ligue 1 in record time, following a 9-0 victory over bottom club Troyes. The win moved them a staggering 25 points ahead of second-placed Monaco, who can no longer catch them as there are only eight games left. Although they wouldn’t have caught them if there were 88 games left.

PSG’s dominance of French football is now absolute. This is their fourth title in a row and only a fool would bet against them making it five, six, seven and eight between now and the end of the decade. And the reason the club is so far ahead – outrageously rich owners.

Qatar Sports Investments, owned by the heir to the Qatari throne, bought the club in 2011 and, after one season of settling in, they haven’t looked back.

Over that period the club has spent hundreds of millions on players, leaving every other French club trailing in it wake.

Of course, all of this is fantastic if you are a PSG fan. Although knowing you will win the title every year takes some of the excitement out of it, it is certainly better than not winning the title every year. Plus the club is now a force to be reckoned with in European competition.

But what about fans of those clubs who are entirely incapable of matching PSG’s spending power, which is basically the rest of Ligue 1. How much fun do you think they are having supporting their teams in an annual lost cause?

The likes of Marseille, Nantes, Monaco, Lyon, Lille and Bordeaux suddenly find themselves trapped in an eternal battle for second place. And, barring other billionaire owners deciding to buy themselves a little piece of France, there is little hope of this cycle being broken.

Montpellier, for example, won their one and only title in 2012, at the time when PSG’s new owners were still finding their feet and ordering a new cheque book. That must have been a beautiful moment for their fans and a momentous achievement considering the club was only founded in 1974.

French football is essentially dead. The purchase of a single club by people with money to burn has effectively killed domestic football for an entire nation

But do you think Montpellier will be able to win the league again now it is essentially run by Qatar? Of course they won’t.

That’s not to say French football was perfect in the days before PSG became immensely rich. It was very much a poor cousin of English, Spanish, Italian and German football. But at least it had an element of competitivity.

Any periods of dominance by a single club, and there obviously were some, would inevitably come to an end. There was light at the end of the tunnel for supporters who knew the cycle would eventually be broken.

Today when you speak to non-PSG fans, all they can see is a future where the Paris club dominates and the rest fight for any scraps they might leave behind.

And that is extremely sad.

English football, of course, has been luckier. Primarily because while the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City may be rich people’s playthings, clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal were already huge before the billionaires moved in. That has helped maintain an element of competitiveness and keep the playing field bordering on level.

Uefa tried to address the problem of nouveau riche clubs buying their way to glory with the Financial Fair Play rules. But it is increasingly looking like those rules are useless, or at least nowhere near as effective as they need to be.

PSG were fined and had their Champions League squad reduced for breaking the rules and spending ‘beyond their means’. But has it made a difference? Not at all.

The upshot of all this is that, as a competitive entity, French football is essentially dead. The purchase of a single club by people with money to burn has effectively killed domestic football for an entire nation.

Yet some people would still have you believe that billionaire investors are good for the game?

Don’t make me laugh.

A real six-pointer

Although derbies in the northeast of England are always a big deal, this afternoon’s is absolutely immense.

At this point I think we can all safely assume that Aston Villa will achieve what has appeared to be their primary objective all season – securing a place in the Championship at the earliest possible opportunity. Which leaves two relegation places up for grabs with three teams realistically fighting to stay out of them: Norwich City, Sunderland and Newcastle United.

You could argue that Swansea City and Crystal Palace could also be dragged into the battle at the bottom, and that certainly isn’t an impossibility. But they both have at a six- to eight-point cushion, and a couple of wins apiece should see them safe. And that makes today’s early kick-off an absolute must win for Sunderland and Newcastle. It’s a match when there is considerably more than pride and bragging rights at stake.

As if all that not enough to make this an enticing encounter, you also have the added excitement of Rafa Benitez having just taken over at Newcastle. The ex Liverpool and Real Madrid manager may have lost his first match in charge of his new club, but there were signs of improvement for him to build on.

Only time will tell whether a man more used to challenging for titles is capable of winning a relegation battle. But I doubt he would have taken the job if he didn’t think it was possible.

The final dose of intrigue comes in the form of Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce. Let’s not forget that he was sacked by Newcastle a few years ago after barely a few months in the job. Big Sam has history with the club and, although he won’t admit it, I’m sure edging his new club closer to safety at the expense of the one that sacked him must hold considerable appeal.

Derby matches are always special. When so much hinges on one, they take on a whole new level of intensity. So today’s clash should be a cracking one. Enjoy it, because you won’t be seeing another one next season. Well, at least not in the top flight…

Anyone seen Elvis?

Before a ball was kicked this season, the odds on Leicester City winning the Premier League were a quite staggering 5,000 to 1.

Just to put that into some sort of context, those are the same odds that English bookmakers were giving on Christmas Day being the warmest day of the year or Elvis Presley being discovered alive.

In other words, the betting companies thought it was not just improbable but entirely impossible.

But as we enter the last few weeks, Leicester are still top. And the impossible might yet happen.

I don’t know about you lot, but I’m looking forward to seeing Elvis sunbathing in a Leicester top come December 25th…

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade