Cristiano Ronaldo and Hunger
The head of the United Nations World Food Programme has written an interesting article about soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo, a Portuguese wing midfielder, is current FIFA World Player of the Year and is slated to be transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid for a fee reaching into 80 million Euros. His salary may round out at well over 500,000 Euros per week.
The author’s point is that the fee could cover the entire operations of the World Food Programme and overcome several shortfalls in funding in humanitarian hotspots. He implores Ronaldo to join Brazilian football star Kaka in advocating for the World Food Programme.
I definitely agree with the sentiment of this article, but don’t feel that these goals are incompatible. Ronaldo is a dazzling soccer player, one that I love to watch, but above all he is just a product. Real Madrid hopes that he will increase television broadcasting rights, ticket sales, and merchandising revenue for Real Madrid. He should generate more revenue than he costs. Soccer is entertainment and entertainment is business.
The author’s comments do put the sum in perspective, however, and rightly make us question our values.
Here is another solution: the U.S. should pay its $1.5 billion debt to the United Nations. That will pay for a whole lot more food than a team full of Ronaldos.
For a cool book of essays about soccer from around the world, check out The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup, by Sean Wilsey and Matt Weiland. Authors including Dave Eggers and Nick Hornby contribute.
UPDATE: Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, has since weighed in on the debate — with an entirely different spin. Instead of comparing Ronaldo to hunger, he likens him to the cost of a Picasso painting, except that fans from around the world get to watch him instead of his being stashed in a private collection. So now we’ve got Ronaldo v. hunger, and Ronaldo v. Picasso. Anyone want to take on the task of arguing for Picasso v. hunger?
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