Premier League 2024/25

[Foxin_Mad]

Honestly this Saudi bollocks is a load of shite. Unless you support Al Shebab or Al Hilal or whatever Al else, literally no one cares, no one will ever care no matter how much money you chuck at it. Football is built upon history, heritage, big names, big cities, trophies etc. The rich Saudis would just be better of buying big European clubs. It's a lower standard than League of Wales. 

[filbertway]

1 minute ago, Foxin_Mad said:

Honestly this Saudi bollocks is a load of shite. Unless you support Al Shebab or Al Hilal or whatever Al else, literally no one cares, no one will ever care no matter how much money you chuck at it. Football is built upon history, heritage, big names, big cities, trophies etc. The rich Saudis would just be better of buying big European clubs. It's a lower standard than League of Wales. 

There's a whole market of kids that have grown up on social media that support players rather than football clubs. 

[ealingfox]

Money from transfers to the Saudi League should not count towards PSR imo.

[filbertway]

12 minutes ago, ealingfox said:

Money from transfers to the Saudi League should not count towards PSR imo.

It does raise the question of whether the transfer fees fall into fair market value, similar to what sponsorship is held to.

That being said, £65m for a 21 year old that looks like an absolute goal machine does seem fair

 

Edited 30 January by filbertway

[ThumbsUp]

2 hours ago, Fox92 said:

Makes me laugh when people roll out the "money will sort him/family out for life" as if players are in League 2. He was playing for a top Premier League club, of course the money in Saudi is better but he would have hardly been on peanuts at Villa.

Genuinely think a lot of people see money as the end goal rather than something you use to get things you want

[LFEFox23]

4 hours ago, davieG said:

They could try paying the players less.

The market dictates players wages / demands?

[filbertway]

7 minutes ago, ThumbsUp said:

Genuinely think a lot of people see money as the end goal rather than something you use to get things you want

The lads only just turned 21 and only has to do this for a couple of years to have his family and future generations set for life. Absolute no brainer.

 

 

[whoareyaaa]

Man Utd could probably compete with that deal or maybe not so much now.

[davieG]

12 minutes ago, LFEFox23 said:

The market dictates players wages / demands?

Except LCFC seem to think we're in a different market

 

[Foxin_Mad]

2 hours ago, filbertway said:

There's a whole market of kids that have grown up on social media that support players rather than football clubs. 

I still don't think that really has a massive amount of traction, yeah there some people who love Ronaldo or whoever but what happens when they retire. Its a dumb concept and people will realise its dumb in time. A players playing life span is what 20 years tops. A club lasts forever, the infrastructure, the history, the legacy lasts forever. 

 

The Al shit is a load of old wank. Maybe they will eventually turn the proper fans off football with all the shite that the mess with, its already a rich plaything, but without the fans the game doesn't really exist. 

[Bilo]

3 hours ago, filbertway said:

There's a whole market of kids that have grown up on social media that support players rather than football clubs. 

Ronaldo fans are undoubtedly the worst of the breed.

[Leicesterpool]

Any player that goes to the Saudi league at a young age or in the prime of their career sums up what there in football for. Certainly ain't for success or glory. 

 

I get players maybe wanting play in the MLS, a league that's improving and in high demand. But the Saudi League where even the locals ain't interested... what's the point. You got Ronaldo in your own backyard and still not interested. Henderson was a case of take the money and run and soon wanted back to europe. 

 

Won't surprise me if we see the Saudi league move to the summer months and maybe see premier league clubs loaning out players to Saudi teams for the big bucks then they get them back before the new season starts. Of course scuppers Uefa and Fifa's major tournaments... but we have seen stupid things happen.

[Fox92]

4 hours ago, JimJams said:

Toney is taking half a million quid a week compared to whatever he was on at Brentford.  To most likely be getting 10x your wage AND TAX FREE, I'm pretty sure it sorts out his family a lot more than if he stayed in the Premier League.

 

I don't get anybody questioning the players making this kind of move.  I largely don't get the idea that they lack ambition either.  I suspect it's that their ambitions are just different to the average English football fan.  Not sure why people would expect a Colombian lad to grow up coveting the idea of playing against Morecambe FC in the fifth round of the FA cup. Or generally just making up the numbers in the big competitions.

As a player you'll play the game, make some money and if you're good and to a degree somewhat lucky, you'll win something.  The vast majority will only play and make money.  And he's going to do that to a degree that means he'll likely make more in 2 or 3 seasons than he would in an entire career in Europe.  At which point he'll be 23/24.  So still loads of time to come back to Europe and have a career that many dream of.  If you write off his ability to come back at that age, then I suppose he'd be a write off if he did his ACL and spent a couple of seasons out injured.

 

I'm not questioning in the move just the "set for life" comments because it's not like PL players are on nothing is it.

[Samilktray]

Fair play to any of these lads going out to Saudi to earn a million a week or whatever to play football

 

if anyone from Saudi Arabia is reading this and wants to quadruple my wages. I’m decent enough on computers and great for staff morale. 

[purpleronnie]

Guess it depends on what you're in it for, if a couple of hundred grand a week isn't enough and all you're interested is more money then that's who you are.

[KingsX]

You lot still amaze me.  A country full of anti-capitalists who are pissed off because they think the capitalists are overpaying their employees.

[ealingfox]

Fvck off what a scam all this is

[whoareyaaa]

Once the money dries up they will all be back playing in the Prem or European leagues,

 

[JimJams]

I reckon it takes a pretty long time for trillions to dry up though.

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

Yeah I think comparisons with China are understandable but wide of the mark. The big 4 sides in that division are backed by a government with almost infinite wealth and it's a nation with a World Cup in just shy of a decade, they're not just going to suddenly get bored of football. I can't ever see the Saudi league troubling major European countries for pull and I think the league will have a much more different shape in the years before / after 2034 (more Saudi talent in the league, infrastructure investment). I don't think it's going to vanish overnight but I don't think it'll ever get bigger than it currently is.

[Bilo]

6 minutes ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

Yeah I think comparisons with China are understandable but wide of the mark. The big 4 sides in that division are backed by a government with almost infinite wealth and it's a nation with a World Cup in just shy of a decade, they're not just going to suddenly get bored of football. I can't ever see the Saudi league troubling major European countries for pull and I think the league will have a much more different shape in the years before / after 2034 (more Saudi talent in the league, infrastructure investment). I don't think it's going to vanish overnight but I don't think it'll ever get bigger than it currently is.

It'll only dry up if players start realising that it's likely to bollocks up their career, meaning that only those who want ridiculous money entertain it.

 

Once they realise that there's no Champions League, limited international opportunities so less chance of World Cups, Euros, AFCONs, Coward Americas etc, then you'll probably get the absolutely elite players give it a wide berth. 

 

My suspicion is that it'll only be players who've passed their peak (Benzema, Ronaldo, Mahrez and Neymar already) or players who are only on the fringes of the elite who will go there. That means that the narrative will continue to be that it's only faded players after a last payday or younger players who don't back themselves for anything other than copious amounts of petrodollars.

Edited 30 January by Bilo

[Lambert09]

I think the Saudi league doesn’t understand that people won’t just switch to that league because they have good players. There’s a serious lack of understanding that people follow clubs …not players , other than the true elites like (Messi and Ronaldo) 

 

I couldn’t care any less about John Duran if he’s not playing in this country.  
 

if they took all the best players from the prem….  whoever it  is that then replaces them and  is the best player at man united , will still be more popular than anyone they’ve signed. no matter what their ability is in comparison.  
 

When was the last time any of you thought about mane? I ain’t got a clue what he’s doing and I don’t care 
 

 

Edited 30 January by Lambert09

[Foxin_Mad]

Why can't Al Shitebab sign Daka for 800 million dollars? 

[The Bear]

2 minutes ago, Foxin_Mad said:

Why can't Al Shitebab sign Daka for 800 million dollars? 

We're selling Lemina to them, but knowing our clowns in charge we'll only get about £10m for him. 

[Long Eaton Fox]

6 hours ago, ThumbsUp said:

Genuinely think a lot of people see money as the end goal rather than something you use to get things you want

The guy is now trapped at that club for the remainder of the contract. No other club could pay that kind of money to bring him back to europe. End of any international involvement too.