Time we saw through soccer’s dazzling numbers game

If ever Uefa should be minded to look for a more appropriate Champions League anthem, my nomination will be Liza Minnelli singing her Cabaret hit ‘Money Makes The World Go Round’.

You can find the song on YouTube, the highlight being the moment when Liza shimmers hypnotically across the stage whispering “money-money, money-money” like an addict looking for the next fix.

There is a similar combination of fascination and revulsion from reading the catalogue of fixes revealed last week by Rafael Buschmann and Michael Wulzinger of Der Spiegel in their book Football Leaks.