Dutch professional football is in worse financial shape than ever. A number of domestic media today run reports on the financial crisis faced by the majority of Premier Division clubs. The verdict is that they pay their players far too high wages.

“Clubs are pushing each other to madness over salaries. It’s idiocy,” Frank Rutten tells the Nu.nl news site. He heads the umbrella organisation for top Dutch professional clubs.

An economist explains that getting to the top of the league rather than making a healthy profit is the number-one priority in football. This makes clubs break basic financial rules and “invest in that one extra player”. He points out that football executives have no incentives to spend prudently.

Nu.nl says Dutch football is facing a number of major problems, with decreased television income, diminishing chances in the lucrative Champions League and less sponsorship income.

Dutch RTL television news says the finances of 12 professional clubs are being officially monitored by the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) this season. Meanwhile, it has placed the top three Dutch teams, Amsterdam’s Ajax, Rotterdam’s Feyenoord and Eindhoven’s PSV, on a list of clubs whose finances, while not in meltdown, are cause for concern.

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide