European football reaches even bigger audience

No, I don't mean your 'football', I mean the world game. Yet I rarely, if ever, comment about football [soccer] on here at all, but after last week's dramatic win in the European Champions League Final by my team - Manchester United - amazing statistics from the game are beginning to emerge.

The 2008 Final, held in Moscow between two English teams for the first time is likely to smash all previous records for the Final. The game was watched live on TV by over half the viewing population of the UK, and when adding the viewers from around Europe, South America, and the rest of the world, including the United States, it will probably top 0.4 billion people tuning in. And this figure doesn't count all those fans who'll only be able to see highlights. With these figures, it'll likely push the total viewing audience close to the 750 million mark. 

The cost of the footballing talent from both teams would probably pay off the debt of small nations, with world-class players like Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United, recently valued at $200 million. Meanwhile, UEFA the European game's ruling body distributed $1.3 billion in prize money during the tournament. Manchester United won a relatively modest $11 million on the night, but of course that excludes media rights, sponsorships and exclusive deals associated with the Champions League winners. 

Full figures aren't in yet, but according to Forbes.com, winners from two years ago, AC Milan of Italy are said to have earned $62.5million as a result of winning the CL final alone. With either Manchester United or Real Madrid the richest sporting organisation in the world, phenomenal amounts of money are made merely by playing a game. What's up with that?