The size of the annual salary that is becoming increasingly meaningless, not how much, but how to spend it is the key...The direction of the club and the capacity of the manager are more important
The size of the annual salary that is becoming increasingly meaningless, not how much, but how to spend it is the key...The direction of the club and the capacity of the manager are more important
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Indiscriminate spending leads to anger. The more inflation gets, the more the team's ability to operate and the leadership's ability shine.
If you look at the 2024 salary details released by the Korea Professional Football Federation, you can see that spending does not lead to ranking.
Jeonbuk Hyundai, which spent about 20.5 billion won (20.7 million U.S. dollars), the second largest labor cost in the K-League 1, remained in the 10th place for the promotion and playoffs. Incheon United ranked fifth with about 12.7 billion won (10.7 million dollars) per year, but became a direct relegation team. On the other hand, Gangwon FC, which ranked 10th with an annual salary of only about 8.4 billion won (8.3 million dollars), was in trouble for being the runner-up. Suwon FC also spent a small amount of money at about 8.8 billion won (8.3 million dollars), but ranked fifth.
The situation in the second division, K-League 2, is no different. Suwon Samsung, which ranks first in annual salary, finished the season in sixth place, failing to advance to the playoffs. Seongnam FC, which ranks second overall, was completely at the bottom. Rather, FC Anyang, which ranks sixth with annual salary of about 4.7 billion won (approx. Gyeongnam FC, which spends about 4.9 billion won (approx.
It is an era of inflation. As the number of K-League teams has increased to 25 teams (26 teams from 2025), the labor costs of players are skyrocketing. The league environment, which eclipses the rules for disclosing annual pay and fiscal consolidation, is thus having adverse effects of making players' pay jump.
Clubs end up spending too much money to produce results. Not a few teams put up with excessive spending on a player even though they know it is too much to avoid relegation or advance to the next round. The so-called "panic buy" trend is prevalent. Jeonbuk, which had little impact even after recruiting players too much last summer, is a case in point.
What is needed in this era is the club's discernment to objectively judge the player's ransom and the "hawk's eye" of recruiting players who match the team's direction.
What is essential in this process is a coach's leadership. A coach who clearly wants to play soccer in the color and philosophy is also consistent in his stance to recruit players. Gwangju FC manager Lee Jung-hyo in the 2023 season, Gangwon FC manager Yoon Jeong-hwan last year, and Suwon FC manager Kim Eun-joong are all leaders who have consistency and style in soccer.
To this end, the club must have a network and database to efficiently recruit players who meet the demands of the coach. Only when the team presents resources that fit the manager's desire while meeting the financial situation, can it prevent excessive spending and enjoy the effect of recruiting players. This literally means that the team's chemistry between the leader and the team is important. 먹튀검증
This phenomenon is likely to intensify. At this point, there is virtually no way to prevent inflation. Money is not guaranteeing performance not only in the K-League but also in the European leagues. Looking at the English Premier League, which is considered to have the worst bubble, various abnormalities have occurred this season, with Nottingham Forest ranking third, Manchester City ranking sixth, Tottenham Hotspur ranking 11th and Manchester United ranking 14th.
In the transfer market in 2025 and this winter, it is not how much money is spent, but how and how efficiently.