Mbappe And The Saudi League Etc.

So sad to hear that he is prepared to destroy his potential to create a legacy as a footballing legend, by chasing more money than he can ever possibly need.

At least Ronarod and Messy achieved everything in club and international football before taking a retirement pay day.

Mbappe is in his prime and considering a move to Saudi Arabia.

This is sad to me. The Neves argument that the money will allow their families to be secure doesn't wash.

Both of these young men are already multi millionaires. They can both live mortgage and debt free for the rest of their lives if they never earned another penny and still provide for their children etc.

Chasing this vulgar wealth is another death knell for football as a 'sport.'

Imagine, years ago, men got together to form clubs to play football for fun, exercise, sociable activity and for local pride.

What we have now is an utter perversion.

 

I hate what football has become. Maybe at grass roots, like Chesham, it is still fun and not money-dominated but at the top, football is ruined forever.

 

For anyone who isn’t aware of the numbers:



Earning €80,000 an hour, what would still currently be an obscene weekly wage for most footballers outside of the really big sides.

 

It doesn’t stop at football though, the idea that a country can get so needlessly rich from fossil fuels that it can embark on a ridiculous vanity project like this is truly absurd and obscene.

 

€22 a second actually makes it sound quite reasonable. I take back what I said.

 

Yeah but going by the current exchange rate that's only about £12 an hour.

 

Not defending the astronomical and eye watering and frankly baffling amount he's getting paid, but it's only for a year before he moves to Real Madrid. Think of it as a very very very expensive loan deal that likely pushes him to near billionaire status. Hard to turn that down for a brief interlude in his career.

 

£11.74

 

I think this is the main problem the Saudi league will have assuming their end goal is to establish a league that is seen like the top leagues in the world. Players will go there for a season or two to bank the cash, but will have no need to stay there beyond that.

 

Thing is, I'm 45 years old with a dodgy knee and of very little use as a marketing draw, but even so, all my mates and family would tune in. Surely, just proportionately that means I'm worth half a million a year?

 

This is what football has become, a play thing for the very rich. For Mbappe, yes he doesn't need the money but £700m for a year must be very tempting. Thought it was to see Henderson go over there despite his apparent views on homosexuality. Soon changed his tune when the offer came in.

 

Sounds like you're in better shape than most of our new signings

 

This whole Mbappe saga is extremely tiresome, yet another example of the disgusting amount of power players have these days. It’s a shame.

 

They tried to make him go to Riyadh but he said No, No, No

 

You’d think PSG would be fuming about missing out on the transfer fee, and then you remember they’re Qatari owned

 

Maybe the Saudis will buy their way into the Champions League. No more ridiculous (though a lot more toxic) than Australia taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest.

 

The worry is what they did with golf, they’ve now basically taken that over. Obviously football will take a lot, lot more money, but it’s not like they don’t have it.

 

Presume the fee could have been useful from a FFP standpoint though the penalties for breaking those rules seem to be unenforceable ?

 

Nasser Al-Khelaifi is a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, and then based off that FIFA documentary the french are in bed with the Qataris, so your assume if all clubs they can probably get away with it. That said id imagine they still love a £300m cash injection, just from anyone but the Saudis.

 

This should be encouraged, the sooner the entitled teams clear off into thier own league the better.

 

Shock horror !

https://twitter.com/ESPNUK/status/1684292507788623875

 

Wonder how Henderson will react ?

 

I don't suppose he will be too bothered. It's not like he wasn't aware of Saudi attitudes towards LGBTQ+ before he agreed to transfer.

Amazing how easily integrity can be bought.

 

Clearly doesn't care

 

I think the vast majority of people would accept a contract like that. It's utterly ludicrous money. One year and you absolutely secure the future of everyone you give a crap about.

 

If he hasn't already managed to secure the future of everyone he cares about, then he is a moron.

 

I find the Saudi takeover of various sports, and the willingness of many already extremely wealthy individuals to snatch at the money offered, just incredibly depressing.

The whole point of having principles in life is that you stick with them come what may, and don’t sell yourself out the moment someone waves a load of cash in your face. Particularly if the source of that cash is an utter c*** of a King Joffrey impersonator who is using you explicitly to legitimise his brutal regime that publicly beheads its citizens for crimes such as being gay or daring to protest, murders civilians by the thousand in Yemen, and dishes out 30 year prison sentences for outrageous acts such as sending a tweet.

The cash may well be extraordinary and life changing, but at what cost? They still have to look themselves in the mirror for the rest of their lives and realise they’re the kind of shills who would enthusiastically give a nazi salute at the 1936 Olympics.

I used to love watching the PGA Tour, heavyweight boxing…. not any more. The same for any Newcastle match (and Man City, PSG for that matter). It pains me to boycott them, and yes it’s an easy sacrifice compared to Henderson or whoever turning down £millions, but as the old quote goes - the only thing necessary in the world for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

 

This is already on the cards, in a manner of speaking. The 2025 Fifa Club World Cup will be held in the summer, in the USA and will feature 32 clubs. It'll feature the most recent Champions League and Copa Libatadores winners plus the other continental champions, so Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia have already qualified. (As have Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City).

Fifa are pressing ahead but it still needs full ratification from the confederations. Plan is to hold this bumper 32-club Fifa Club World Cup every four years.

 

The key point will come if and when clubs disconnect from their national leagues, rather than squeezing in more of these intercontinental competitions. Although they moan about fixture congestion, these clubs cope because of their large expensive squads which mean they can still win domestic competitions effectively by fielding a reserve team (as happens with the FA Cup now). Many people now think a ‘Super League’ would be preferable so that other clubs get a chance to compete domestically, but will the rewards of a Super League be great enough for the big clubs to abandon the likes of the Premier League?