The Consequences of an Open Labour Market in Separated Product Markets in European Professional Football

Ever since the Bosman case opened the labour market for players in European professional football, competitive balance has reduced in favour of the Big 5 leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France) and more specific in England, Spain and Italy. In this article we show that changing structures towards an open labour market in separated product markets resulted in a migration of player talents towards the major leagues and teams and in a competitive disadvantage for the smaller market leagues and their teams. Next to a theoretical argumentation, we provide some empirical evidence and assess future options for the structure of European professional football.