I think this is true of Real Madrid. They use that strategy, openly, and unlike most of the teams who have attempted to emulate this model, they've been successful with it. That's because they have been and are a state-backed club. To their credit, they have used this backing to ensure they maximize the money of the casual fan (I'll come back to this).
However, we are not (on the cusp) of losing CDK to Leeds because of money, or because of poverty, but because of strategy. Leeds make around 50% less than we do (based on projections) and there might be a significant gap in TV revenues, but... in overall revenues, we make a lot more than them.
This is where/why I disagree with you. If CDK goes to Leeds, it won't be because of financial power, it will be due to strategy choice. When Elliott first came here, with Leonardo in charge, he spent big money. He wasted all of it. We cannot compete, financially, with Real, Bayern, Juve, Man Utd, etc. If you run things smart, you don't have to, that's the point. We are not in financial competition with Leeds or West Ham, we just choose not to pay what they pay for CDK (reportedly) or Vlasic.
Fans complain about all sorts of things, unless you're winning. Winning cures all. Our revenue is exploding because we're winning, fans aren't wringing their hands saying: "well, shit, if we don't get this CDK deal done... that's humiliating." Casuals is where the money is, and they care very little about statement signings. It gets some people in, for sure. No doubt, but, what gets you the increased revenue, the crazy sponsorships, and all that, so you can go big, is winning.
If we were trying to compete for Camavinga, sure, I'd get what you're saying. We're not though. This isn't about our comparative poverty to Real, because, again, we make more money than Leeds, have more money than Leeds, this is about what we think a player is worth. And quite frankly, I think even when our revenues push 400-500, I don't think we will be deviating from this model very much--much like Liverpool spend comparatively far less than others in their income bracket.