sidcow Posted January 19 VT Supporter Share Posted January 19 22 minutes ago, Zatman said: But they did sign Ronaldo and 2021 Ballon Dor winner Benzema and a few bigger players like Mahrez, Kante etc They have evolved quicker than MLS when one of greatest strikers was an a poor City striker before City was good All those players are a long way beyond (Ronaldo and Benzema) or at (Mahrez and Kante) the end of their useful career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 13 minutes ago, sidcow said: All those players are a long way beyond (Ronaldo and Benzema) or at (Mahrez and Kante) the end of their useful career. Benzema won the 2022 Ballon Dor with Mane 2nd Its not like signed Gerrard and Lampard to play for them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted January 19 VT Supporter Share Posted January 19 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Zatman said: Benzema won the 2022 Ballon Dor with Mane 2nd Its not like signed Gerrard and Lampard to play for them He's 36.Thirty Six. It's irrelevant what he won. He's done. Edited January 19 by sidcow 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 2 minutes ago, sidcow said: He's 36.Thirty Six. It's irrelevant what he won. He's done. Well every Ballon Dor winner since 2016 has been over 30 Winner after Bemzema is playing a league as bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ_Villain Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 55 minutes ago, Zatman said: England and Netherlands have a passing interest in football? Strange I know right… i was born in Sutton Coldfield and I have never heard of it… I much prefer Buzkashi… that’s a proper sport… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ_Villain Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 3 hours ago, DJBOB said: On topic Saudis. They can try to buy it as much as they like - but they'll have the same problem China has until they develop their own homegrown model. They have put a lot of investment in that model but outside of Asia, they'll continue to struggle to avoid the retirement league label. On topic… They aren’t buying players because they love the sport or are interested in developing it in their country… they just want to throw money around and show how easy it is that they can buy people and convince them to go against their principles when you throw oil money in their face… it’s literally the only logical reason the Saudis went out of their way to sign Jordan Henderson… Good player, yeah… but in the same bracket as Benzema, Ronaldo and others? Nah… Off topic: not massively bothered by baseball to be honest… NFL and NHL is more my thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted January 20 VT Supporter Share Posted January 20 9 hours ago, Zatman said: Well every Ballon Dor winner since 2016 has been over 30 Winner after Bemzema is playing a league as bad I think you're confusing Ballon Dor winners with players who have a few year's left at their top prowess. If you believe they are buying the very best Europe has then good for you. To me they are buying players on their way out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 The attendance for the Italian Super Cup semi-final between Napoli and Fiorentina in Saudi Arabia Serie A really sold its soul for money. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 8 minutes ago, Genie said: The attendance for the Italian Super Cup semi-final between Napoli and Fiorentina in Saudi Arabia Serie A really sold its soul for money. We'll be seeing similar sights for English games before too long, Community Shield first, I suspect 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 5 minutes ago, Davkaus said: We'll be seeing similar sights for English games before too long, Community Shield first, I suspect Wembley is worth too much to the FA (they might have a contract obligation to play there too) would take a huge number to make it happen Italian and Spanish also seem to be having semi finals and 4 teams, no one wants that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 16 minutes ago, Davkaus said: We'll be seeing similar sights for English games before too long, Community Shield first, I suspect It’s just greed isn’t it. I can understand sports like Snooker and Darts taking the oil money to boost the income of its players dramatically, but football is awash with billions and billions, there’s really no need for it (other than greed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Laporte is the latest player to have a go at the football situation in Saudi Arabia He has since backtracked his comments as misquoted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 18 minutes ago, Genie said: It’s just greed isn’t it. I can understand sports like Snooker and Darts taking the oil money to boost the income of its players dramatically, but football is awash with billions and billions, there’s really no need for it (other than greed). Nearly put that in another thread because I saw littler won the Bahrain masters, I'm not a darts fan so I'm not sure how big it is out there and I'm also not fully clued up on Bahrain but I associate darts with drinking so I was a bit surprised to see a darts tournament in the middle east But agree it's complete greed, football is awash with it, as mad as the Qatar fifa documentary was the above board side of it would probably be mind blowing to the majority of us, even if it's not brown paper envelopes to the decision makers, I'm sure the Italian and Spanish FA members had an incredible weekend out there 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Quote Exclusive: Saudi Pro League set for £2bn summer spend Saudi dealmakers are unperturbed by the winter exit of Jordan Henderson to Ajax and don’t feel his departure is damaging to the long-term project. There is a planned league-wide spend of around £2bn for this summer, inclusive of transfer fees, wages and agent costs. Saudi clubs spent £750m on transfer fees last summer and this number is likely to be surpassed if certain star names are secured. The two most high-profile targets are Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. De Bruyne’s camp have already been approached with both Riyadh-based clubs, Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal, expressing an interest. Al-Ettifaq is a developing club with big ambitions, and have recently opened a brand new stadium, but there is an acceptance that 2-3 more windows are needed before their project really starts to pay off. That’s why Gerrard is being given time and a new deal despite having not won since October. Saudi sources point out clubs are being developed over multiple seasons so it’s unfair to judge the project immediately since the infrastructure will take some time to catch up with the ambition. They also don’t expect a mass exodus, pointing out the likes of Ruben Neves, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Riyadh Mahrez and Gabri Veiga are happy in the Kingdom. And summer will see another big push for talent, both young and old, with no signs of spending slowing down. https://www.caughtoffside.com/2024/01/20/exclusive-saudi-pro-league-set-for-2bn-summer-spend/ Guess we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 It seems a lot of people are saying De Bruyne is definitely done and this is his last season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mozzavfc Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 15 hours ago, Genie said: The attendance for the Italian Super Cup semi-final between Napoli and Fiorentina in Saudi Arabia Serie A really sold its soul for money. Apparently Saudi Journalists asked why they sent Fiorentina and Lazio, instead of Juventus and Milan Great footballing culture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 9 minutes ago, Mozzavfc said: Apparently Saudi Journalists asked why they sent Fiorentina and Lazio, instead of Juventus and Milan Great footballing culture Wait, they "sent" 2 extra teams? To pack it out to more games? Then **** them all, the Italians should be just as embarrassed by it Fair play to Toni Kroos on all this too, doesn't sound like he'll be retiring there 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Troy Deeney has been saying he was offered mega money to go there but turned it down because he’d have to live in a different house to his partner. Yeah right mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 1 hour ago, Mozzavfc said: Apparently Saudi Journalists asked why they sent Fiorentina and Lazio, instead of Juventus and Milan Great footballing culture Something tells me Lazio fans wouldnt be keen on travelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 1 hour ago, villa4europe said: Wait, they "sent" 2 extra teams? To pack it out to more games? Then **** them all, the Italians should be just as embarrassed by it Fair play to Toni Kroos on all this too, doesn't sound like he'll be retiring there They included Serie A and Coppa Italia Runners Up like Spain have done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts