England-based players moving to the Saudi league.

[kenny]

1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

 

They don't need to do that though. They just need companies owned or financed by the royal fund to buy clubs in multiple countries and pay UEFA to pretend the money isn't all coming from (or going back to) the same place and it isn't really a conflict of interest. 

 

They own Newcastle, they finance Chelsea and now Strasbourg. Given that Ligue 1 isn't majorly competitive it shouldn't be difficult for Strasbourg to spend enough to near permanently buy a Champions League place. You'd expect in future years one of Newcastle or Chelsea (if not both) will always be in the Champs League. 

 

Wouldn't be difficult for them to repeat the trick with a La Liga and a Serie A club. 

Its just a cock waving exercise I reckon. So they will want the Saudi champions in the Champions League not just a club they own. It would also remove the hesitancy for players to move there for sporting reasons, as European qualification would still be on offer.

 

I doubt they think they will create a league that many people will watch, its just another shiny toy for people that have more money than they can spend.

 

 

[MPH]

It’s all a bit Murky, isn’t it?

 

 

I think the one major difference is that the Saudi’s literally have money to burn and can sustain the high wages far longer than China did. These are not privately owned clubs making all these purchases, these are government owned clubs and we know the Saudi government has plenty of money..

[lcfc278]

Not one player that's moved there has made me sit up and think I'd like to watch one of their games next season. Predominantly players that are past it or average players from the PL.

 

Hope it all goes tits up and they burn millions.

 

 

[SkidsFox]

I'm wondering if this may be a big earner over the long term, particularly if star African players start to be diverted in that direction. Football appears to be big all over Africa.

[grobyfox1990]

31 minutes ago, SkidsFox said:

I'm wondering if this may be a big earner over the long term, particularly if star African players start to be diverted in that direction. Football appears to be big all over Africa.

Over 60% of Saudi's are under 30, they are trying to create viable routes for these kids such as sports and gaming, which they are investing in massively. 

 

I don't think they'll be too bothered about shirt sales or broadcast for now.

[SkidsFox]

3 minutes ago, grobyfox1990 said:

Over 60% of Saudi's are under 30, they are trying to create viable routes for these kids such as sports and gaming, which they are investing in massively. 

 

I don't think they'll be too bothered about shirt sales or broadcast for now.

Maybe not for now. But imagine the earnings from tv satellite systems (or streaming) in 500 million homes in a few years time?

[SkidsFox]

Rumours that Vardy's been offered a contract out there. I'd be tempted to cash in if I were him. Would also give Messi, Cron and Ramos the chance to play with a true GOAT.

[Super_horns]

Little video on what the Saudis are trying to do and achieve.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LZn3i2YZ1BA

[Sampson]

7 hours ago, filbertway said:

There seems to be a whole new generation of internet football fans that idolise players rather than teams. If they can attract enough big names and then sort out a top quality streaming service that can cater to multiple different languages, then it wouldn't surprise me if it developed a bit of a cult following quickly that could easily snowball.

 

They must have some kind of plan right? It could well end up being a fruitless exercise, but I just can't see the sense in throwing billions into a project that doesn't have any direction or solid plan behind it.

Only really think that’s true of maybe 3 or 4 of the world’s top players though and I don’t think it’s really that different to the past.
 

Yeah it might be true for prime Messi or Ronaldo and nowadays for Haaland or Mbappe. But even a player in that second tier of players such as Benzema or Kane - people aren’t just supporting those type of players and going to pay to stream every exhibition game in Saudi just to watch them.
 

People certainly flocked to see Pele, Cruyff, Zidane, Brazilian Ronaldo or Maradona and there were plenty who just followed whoever they played for in the past, I remember you’d always see kids with shirts with Zidane on the back whenever he moved. Saudi is never going to attract them in their primes though.

 

They’ll attract those players at the end of their careers for a big final payday like the US did back in the day with the likes of Pele, Beckenbauer and Best, as they have done with Cristiano Ronaldo, but it failed back then as it will now because people lose interest in players playing some games at the end of their career at essentially the standard of exhibition matches.

 

Let’s be honest, if Vardy now, as an ageing player past his prime, joined a club in a small, poor quality league, even in a country without the Saudi government, and there was the option to pay, even very few of us, who half of us probably all have Vardy as our favourite ever player would pay to watch them. You’d have a thread on here following what he’s doing that would get updated every couple of months but that’s about it 

Edited 26 June 2023 by Sampson

[Saxondale]

6 hours ago, st albans fox said:

Was trailed ever since Qatar wasn’t a disaster ….

When you say ‘wasn’t a disaster’, it was moved to December, thousands of men were kept as slaves to build their stadiums, hundreds of them died and they banned booze about a day before it started.

 

Can think how it could have been more of a disaster tbh.

[st albans fox]

14 minutes ago, Saxondale said:

When you say ‘wasn’t a disaster’, it was moved to December, thousands of men were kept as slaves to build their stadiums, hundreds of them died and they banned booze about a day before it started.

 

Can think how it could have been more of a disaster tbh.

It was a success 

you (and millions that think like you) didn’t think so but it was (that’s the message)

Edited 26 June 2023 by st albans fox

[grobyfox1990]

2 hours ago, Saxondale said:

When you say ‘wasn’t a disaster’, it was moved to December, thousands of men were kept as slaves to build their stadiums, hundreds of them died and they banned booze about a day before it started.

 

Can think how it could have been more of a disaster tbh.

What?? It generated one of the best finals ever, a hugely exciting tournament, big global numbers and billions in revenue. Plus I bet you interacted with the tournament and contributed to its success

[Daggers]

11 hours ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

 

If it wasn't for my love of Leicester I would be done with this crap.  I read the non-league thread earlier and have never really got the 2nd club lower down the league thing but I am coming around to the idea.

Can honestly say I’ve not been looking forward to a new season this much for a long time. We’ve a ‘meet the boss’ night in the KTFC clubhouse on Friday and I’m awfully tempted to take up one of the voluntary media posts. I can see me swiftly getting to the point where I sack off King Power FC for good.

[Finnegan]

9 hours ago, Daggers said:

Can honestly say I’ve not been looking forward to a new season this much for a long time. We’ve a ‘meet the boss’ night in the KTFC clubhouse on Friday and I’m awfully tempted to take up one of the voluntary media posts. I can see me swiftly getting to the point where I sack off King Power FC for good.

 

I love you man but come on, you've been saying this shit since Mandaric bought the club

[Corky]

Can't wait for Gray to justify his £700k a week wages with 2 goals in 15 games and threads appear on here bemoaning us letting him leave.

[1972 Fox]

Although the Saudis have almost limitless wealth, I imagine this will eventually crash and burn as there just won't be enough interest in it compared to the PL and other top European leagues.

 

The players and agents will milk it for as much money as possible while they can but if it doesn't generate enough worldwide interest the sponsors will shy away and it won't last.

 

While it does last we could do with offloading some of our sellable players to them for inflated transfer fees.

[Daggers]

1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

 

I love you man but come on, you've been saying this shit since Mandaric bought the club

But this season I have a season ticket for the non-league. 

 

…and I’ve genuinely been restrained with how much I fvcking hate our board, Rudkin, and virtually everything the club does. The lack of comms this summer broke me, something snapped with the abject disdain they continued with. 
 

Want an apology? Want some contrition? Fvck off and swallow this self-indulgent whine about being attacked. Fvck off and buy some shit from the shop so you can remember this glorious season. In fact, if you aren’t going to spend money, you may as well just fvck off. 
 

Yes, there probably has been a growing disaffection because I hate modern football - but fvck me these cvnts turned the dial to 11 for me over the last two seasons. 
 

So, yeh, I reckon I am pretty done with KPFC corp. 

[Wymsey]

It's like selling the soul to the devil.

This could really haunt football.