Ian Mallon: ‘The Keita Principle’ - the surging business of football risk

Why are clubs taking extreme chances with players they hope will somehow reverse the very long odds and consistent downward data patterns which have overshadowed their careers?

NABY LAD: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp consoles Naby Keita as he walks off injured during the Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool.

IF NABY KEITA or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were stocks, they’d be junk bonds – speculative-grade investments at best, with a likelihood of defaulting, or where a default has already occurred.

These distressed, high-risk assets have negligible material value, are consistent loss-makers through recent exchanges and have low percentage potential of realising any return on investment.