Ancelotti calms concern on big-spending football

Bayern Munich head coach Carlo Ancelotti believes the increasingly extravagant investments made in football aren’t tarnishing the reputation of the game

The Italian says the sport has become a powerful industry and expects the big-spending to fall in-line with its growing popularity.

“It’s not football, the market is the market. Maybe the market has increased, but someone has to sell and someone has to buy. This is how the market functions.

“Is it bigger than the past? Of course it’s bigger than the past, but also the investment in television rights around the world made in football.

Football is really important, and a really interesting industry, and the market is like this. I don’t see anything special with the market. The people love football and will always love football,” he stressed.

Looking to matters on the field, Ancelotti isn’t quite yet prepared to compromise domestic his Bundesliga campaign to bolster Bayern’s Champions League aspirations.

“Everybody wants to win the Champions League — not only FC Bayern; there’s Real Madrid, there’s Barcelona, and obviously every team that’s in the competition wants to win it.

“The question is not just about that one title, it’s about being competitive until the very end in all of the competitions and of course that goes for the Bundesliga as well as the Champions League.”

He also echoed Thiago Alcantara’s support for German World Cup winner and former Bayern midfield stalwart Bastian Schweinsteiger’s decision to retire from international football earlier this week, labelling it a ‘personal’ call.