Mic09 Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Am I the only one thinking that players like Hudson Odoi (never a top player) or pensioner Benzema going there doesn't really mean anything yet? Saudis also make lots of crappy signing, on par with Polish/Romanian league but that doesn't seem to be brought up too much. Sure, we can talk about how they might one day have rights to the Champions League or some sort of a new competition, but we are a long way from that. Right now, we have a few players from the PL going there, with sub par coaching and infrastructure. If they are to "conquer" football, they are a loooong way away from that. At this moment, Nottingham forest or Bournemouth mop the floor with most of Saudi teams. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post NurembergVillan Posted June 21, 2023 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted June 21, 2023 I'm not so much worried about their league replacing ours as I am them distorting the PL by washing the FFP books of Newcastle and Chelsea through dodgy transfers. 9 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 52 minutes ago, Tommo_b said: The Saudis getting their fingers in lots of things recently, WWE, Golf and Football to start, sure basketball and NFL will be on the horizon. Looking forward to the Saudi version of NHL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duke313 Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Fair point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 "They have the money to buy any player they want" As opposed to our very own state-owned champions Manchester City who famously have to sell to buy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBlack Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 (edited) Yes, he's an idiot and calling out the wrong issue. The issue is will they only use it, or mostly use it, to help the clubs they own. Distorting the fair play market as much as Man City did with their illegal off book payments Edited June 21, 2023 by MrBlack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Oh so the media do know what sportswashing is. I don't recall any mention of this term from Carragher when discussing City, Newcastle, PSG etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 It may be that *I'm* confused by what 'sportswashing' means, because I don't really see how 'paying Bernardo Silva lots of money' is going to change what lots of people think about the Saudi government, in much the same way that 'paying Oscar lots of money' didn't noticeably (to me anyway) change what people thought about the Chinese government. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 2 hours ago, HanoiVillan said: It may be that *I'm* confused by what 'sportswashing' means, because I don't really see how 'paying Bernardo Silva lots of money' is going to change what lots of people think about the Saudi government, in much the same way that 'paying Oscar lots of money' didn't noticeably (to me anyway) change what people thought about the Chinese government. He doesn't know what it means, only that people use it with a negative connotation when referring to Gulf states involved in football. He feels bad about Saudis buying players but can't articulate why (not sure if it's because he doesn't know why or if he's too embarrassed to say), so uh... sports washing it is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulberto21 Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Quote “You don’t want to waste a crisis . . . So for us, definitely we are looking into any opportunities.” That was the message delivered by Yasir al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, as more than 2,000 bankers and executives tuned in to a virtual conference in April. And they were not idle words. https://www.ft.com/content/af2deefd-2234-4e54-a08a-8dbb205f5378 from 2020 - some of the companies they’ve invested in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 1 hour ago, Keyblade said: He doesn't know what it means, only that people use it with a negative connotation when referring to Gulf states involved in football. He feels bad about Saudis buying players but can't articulate why (not sure if it's because he doesn't know why or if he's too embarrassed to say), so uh... sports washing it is. Bet he wouldnt say that if Gerrard had taken that job or they bought Liverpool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 46 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said: It may be that *I'm* confused by what 'sportswashing' means, because I don't really see how 'paying Bernardo Silva lots of money' is going to change what lots of people think about the Saudi government, in much the same way that 'paying Oscar lots of money' didn't noticeably (to me anyway) change what people thought about the Chinese government. Nor me I'd say dubai becoming a holiday destination has done more for the Emirates than them sponsoring arsenal has They created a "modern" global city which people want to visit, if they were to get the Olympics I'd say it would be a surprise but not a shock, Abu Dhabi is slightly behind them but trying the same thing The likes of Qatar, Bahrain, Riyadh got them there would be outrage Sports washing is nothing compared to social media influencers taking photos of themselves on beaches 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolta Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 3 hours ago, HanoiVillan said: It may be that *I'm* confused by what 'sportswashing' means, because I don't really see how 'paying Bernardo Silva lots of money' is going to change what lots of people think about the Saudi government, in much the same way that 'paying Oscar lots of money' didn't noticeably (to me anyway) change what people thought about the Chinese government. I think it all gives a sense of credibility and upstandingness. Any human rights/murdering issues—by not being talked about in the 'collective uncoscious' or whatever—somehow don't seem to matter. I guess as human beings we're tribal and are guilty of a lot of groupthink. And it can be generational too—I now know 14 year old Spanish kids who know the names of a group of the Saudi teams. These kids see footballers going to Saudi Arabia and suddenly they're interested, and any suggestion there might be concerns about Saudi Arabia's regime don't seem to have any credence while there are so few critical voices in their lives. All they associate with Saudi Arabia at the moment is exciting footballers and them being legitimate players in the football world. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few shirts from these teams in Madrid next year—although now I've said that Madrid might be the place most in thrall to money and power that I've ever been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaJ100 Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 10 hours ago, Sulberto21 said: https://www.ft.com/content/af2deefd-2234-4e54-a08a-8dbb205f5378 from 2020 - some of the companies they’ve invested in. Can't avoid them by the look of it. Depressing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Surprising if true Quote Saudi Arabia decides to withdraw from the 2030 World Cup The project and the diplomatic work of the RFEF and the FPF have conditioned the decision of the Saudis, who today have informed Greece and Egypt that they are getting out of the World The candidacy made up of Spain, Portugal and Morocco has been highly reinforced today in its options to host the 2030 World Cup. The Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud , has contacted in the last hours with the links from Greece and Egypt to inform them that they are finally giving up and will not present a candidacy for the 2030 World Cup given the strength of the project led by the Spanish federation together with the Portuguese. Having studied in detail the real framework of possibilities, Saudi Arabia has concluded that it is impossible to prevail over the Spain-Portugal-Morocco candidacy after realizing the work they have already done and the advantage they have in all aspects after years of work serious and silent The discreet diplomatic strategy of the RFEF designed by Luis Rubiales and by Fernando Gomes and Antonio Laranjo (Portuguese Football Federation) has once again paid off and the candidacy is once again strengthened . https://www.marca.com/futbol/2023/06/22/64949a1246163fcb878b45e0.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vancvillan Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 On 21/06/2023 at 13:01, duke313 said: Fair point. Fair, but at least we have history, the invention of the sport and a rich culture of football being passed from generation to generation on our side. Can't have jumpers for goalposts when it's 45C, but I guess going skins would be less annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 41 minutes ago, Vancvillan said: Fair, but at least we have history, the invention of the sport and a rich culture of football being passed from generation to generation on our side And Saudi Arabia doesn't have this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 to be fair the PL has that money because of the TV deal and the TV deal is big because its the most watched league in the world (?) the reason they're going to saudi is money, absolutely nothing else, hence why the money is also so much, they're fading in to obscurity in a league that no one watches or cares about whereas the PL is literally the opposite all that said kaveh is an absolute clearing in the woods who robs a living so attack him all you want Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 On a slightly related note apparently F1 are planning to move the Saudi race and the Bahrain race to the Saturdays instead of Sundays as to take into account the Muslim fasting month, Ramadan. Doesn't matter one bit to me but kinda shows who's paying for the spectacle and who's really in charge. Football will have to adjust to their new overlords (and already have with the winter WC in Qatar). Better get used to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duke313 Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 1 hour ago, villa4europe said: to be fair the PL has that money because of the TV deal and the TV deal is big because its the most watched league in the world (?) the reason they're going to saudi is money, absolutely nothing else, hence why the money is also so much, they're fading in to obscurity in a league that no one watches or cares about whereas the PL is literally the opposite all that said kaveh is an absolute clearing in the woods who robs a living so attack him all you want And how did it get such large TV deals? How did it become the most watched league in the world? Because it outspent every other league in the world for the past 20 years, that's how. When teams like Bournemouth and Fulham can outspend AC Milan, that's fine? But if upstarts Saudi Arabia start throwing money about, then all of a sudden, it's an issue? It's kind of ironic that it's mainly Sky complaining about Saudi spending, when they are the primary reason football is all about money these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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