Football and banker’s pay – there is a link?

Okay, so I have no much interest in football, but this recent piece in The Economist makes for great reading if you’re into the footie – or like me trying to paint peformance management issues in a lighter way!  You can read the articles for yourself, but the basic theme is that while both banks and football clubs pay high salaries to retain/attract the best talent, the question is does this make economic sense. Arguably, the more successful banks and football clubs get to keep more of their revenues as they make more money by having the best traders/players.  So it seems to make sense that pay and performance are linked in banks and football clubs.  However, if bankers/players pay is capped, they can move elsewhere, which may have an effect on the performance of the bank/club they leave.  So, according to the article, unless a cartel scenario exists in banks it is unlikely that any cap on pay  will be useful in an economic sense. It may be what politicians want, but it’s unlikely to make economic sense.