Irish Examiner view: Show me the money 

The 'Jerry Maguire' catchphrase could be a leitmotif for Ireland given different experiences this week

Jerry Maguire (played by Tom Cruise) and Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jnr) in the 1996 movie 'Jerry Maguire'. Picture: PA

It was 20 years ago this weekend that something was done which changed sport forever. It was a transaction which many hated, and still do, but as Al Jolson said in marking the end of silent movies in 1927, “you ain’t heard nothing yet”.

When Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea FC for €84m (less than one Declan Rice at today’s values) plus €140m of debt, it was left to Arsenal’s then chairman David Dein to find the pithiest phrase to sum up what it meant for the future.

“Roman Abramovich”, he said, “has parked his tanks on our lawn and is firing five pound notes at us.”

It was a big deal then, the funding of a medium-sized sporting enterprise with the boundless wealth of another nation’s natural assets, A big deal then, but not so much now.

In much the same way that the Chelsea acquisition joined the list of previous watershed moments (The Jack Kramer tennis circus which forced the men’s game open; Kerry Packer’s world series cricket; rugby turning professional in 1995) it has been outstripped and left in the rear view mirror. 

Through the door Abramovich opened have slipped the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Golf has succumbed to fossil fuel blandishments; many footballers are moving to the Middle East to supplement pensions and investment portfolios; the Gulf states now have four Formula One Grand Prix, one more than the US.

Wimbledon starts on Monday. Old pros John McEnroe and Chris Evert are railing against the idea that the men’s and women’s tours are contemplating an injection from Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund.

“It’s sportswashing. I don’t think we need to go there,” says Evert. “After the debacle that you’re watching in golf . . . it’s comical,” said McEnroe.

But both understand that many sportspeople share the same priorities as Cuba Gooding Jr’s American football player Rod Tidwell in the Oscar-winning movie Jerry Maguire. His motto was “show me the money”, a catchphrase which might be considered a leitmotif for Ireland given different experiences this week. 

And it’s not just players. That €225m investment Abramovich made 20 years ago matured to a €4.67bn asset in a government forced fire sale last year. In soccer, and other sports, the gravy train is still on the rails.