[Football] Saudia Arabian football

[Comrade Sam]

I can't blame players for taking the money. It's just upsetting that Saudi Arabia and the other gulf states are accepted as normal nations. The truth is, along with Qatar they are slave states almost like the US Southern states before 1865 or ancient Greece or Rome. But unlike these historical examples the indigenous populations all benefit, creating freak states where football etc is supplied for the pampered locals.

Whilst British made weapons protect these states. Their money undermines the freedom of millions across the globe, either through the direct funding of terrorist organisations or via vast educational funding - ideologically brainwashing through their twisted version of Islam.

In Northern Cyprus there's poor infrastructure, healthcare etc, yet President Erdogan has got Saudi funding to build giant mosques everywhere with universities and hospitals attached. Whilst the locals felt they had enough mosques already and aren't entitled to use the new facilities unless they want their boys to become Wahhabi tools. Ironically most Turks go to Cyprus for gambling, drinking and meeting women in bikinis.

Bitter lake is a good explanation for why the USA enables the Saudi project. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p02gyz6b
Also Chelsea using this bollox to overcome FFP makes a joke of any financing rules in the EPL.

 

[US Seagull]

That's not quite true. Might be for you and me, but many many football fans around the world are fans of individual players and follow them not the clubs (eg Mitoma, Ronaldo etc). These teams will gain followers whilst their favourite is playing there.

While that's true to some extent, I'm not sure how many of those fans following Mitoma are following Mitoma because he's in the Best League in the World™.
Would all those same Japanese fans be following him if he was playing the Saudi league? I don't know.

 

[SAC]

While that's true to some extent, I'm not sure how many of those fans following Mitoma are following Mitoma because he's in the Best League in the World™.
Would all those same Japanese fans be following him if he was playing the Saudi league? I don't know.

I suspect that they would follow him at a club in one of the big leagues and not elsewhere. I could be wrong, Celtic have 3 or 4 Japanese players, does this give them more supporters in Japan?

 

[Sepulveda]

Doubt it will become a big league like the main European ones, might be a China-like situation.

But if I'm wrong then the only difference is that there will be another big buying league in town, and that doesn't change much for us Serie A fans at the moment. It might change more for you who are the richest league nowadays. But it in any case wouldn't change lots of European fans' viewing habits, they'll keep following their European teams.

The Saudi regime won't suddenly become more or less terrible because of football, it's not like they were saints or had a lot less money back when they didn't have European players in their league.

 

[John Byrnes Mullet]

I am sorry if there is another thread on all these transfers to Saudi Arabia but after Gary Neville saying there needs to be embargo there is definitely something dodgy going on. If Chelsea do have interests in the hedge funds that own these Saudi clubs they obviously falsely playing with financial fair play. Any news on a proposed FA investigation. Probably not. Sorry I am not an expert on these things but it stinks.

 

[7:18]

Makes room for Sanchez to join them?

 

[Doc Lynam]

This appears to be Chelsea’s get out of jail free card, that I presume they didn’t want to use, but only in emergencies. The Saudi backers buy their own players.

 

[SeagullinExile]

This appears to be Chelsea’s get out of jail free card, that I presume they didn’t want to use, but only in emergencies. The Saudi backers buy their own players.

No sales to Saudi teams will help Chelsea with this years FFP situation, as the window over there opens after the cut off point.

 

[BadFish]

Am I wrong to hope for the success of the Saudi league?

I wonder if they will buy all the mercenary footballers who are only interested in money (good riddance I say). Then if it becomes successful perhaps the nation states will take their money out of European clubs and we can have our (not very) level playing field back.

Even if you disagree you can't deny it would be funny for city and Newcastle to return to being basket cases. Just as Newcastle are about to win their first trophy would be brilliant.

 

[Worried Man Blues]

On the plus side we are taking shed loads of money away from the Saudis

 

[Nitram]

On the plus side we are taking shed loads of money away from the Saudis

It could be quite the opposite. Many of the clubs have stakes in the same investment companies.
It could turn out that they are moving money around to benefit clubs that are under FFP investigation.

 

[Stat Brother]

On the plus side we are taking shed loads of money away from the Saudis

Who'll make up the deficit (not even a drop in the ocean) by squeezing the price of crude, which will hit us car drivers in the pocket and keep inflation high.

It's almost as if they can't lose!

 

[Worried Man Blues]

It could be quite the opposite. Many of the clubs have stakes in the same investment companies.
It could turn out that they are moving money around to benefit clubs that are under FFP investigation.

I was thinking of the money paid to players who will buy Bentleys over here, although we probably don't own Bentley now!

 

[Worried Man Blues]

Who'll make up the deficit (not even a drop in the ocean) by squeezing the price of crude, which will hit us car drivers in the pocket and keep inflation high.

It's almost as if they can't lose!

We'll go quicker for renewable and quicken the demise of oil? Better for the planet, which was the Saudis long term plan...........

 

[Simster]

N'Golo Kanté looks set to be the latest big name to go there, with a suggestion he'll be on $100m/season all in.

A fine player, obviously, but not the sort of name that is going to get people suddenly having an interest in this footballing outpost.

Benzema is reported to be earning $643m over the next three years having made a similar move.

The Saudis have almost bottomless pockets, as we know, but this seems to be an awful lot of money on a few twilight footballers just to try and win the World Cup, as I can't see it will make a jot of difference in terms of people having any notable interest in their league.

When I read about those sorts of salaries being handed out to kick a ball in a nothing league, it makes me really angry. Not because the Saudis are tyrannical bloodthirsty scum (although that is bad enough). More that there is so much suffering across the Arab world (especially in Yemen where the Saudi regime is particularly culpable) and they could gift some of those millions of Arab cousins a way out of their suffering. There is even a Muslim expectation of Zakah (one of the 5 pillars) where 2.5% of disposable income should be given to worthwhile causes.

How do these people square those issues with paying Karim Benzema $643,000,000 to kick a ball about in a country with no footballing culture to speak of? It is absolutely shameful.