Saudi Pro League

[bobzy]

2 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

I don't think you can ignore this - the Saudi's have a habit of following through on buying sports.

They'll start with the oldest big names, try to encourage some sort of relevancy and then start trying to poach players in their prime. The Premier League will be keeping a very close eye on this - it's a threat.

It's not even really a league like other leagues - the top four teams are all owned by the same thing and that thing is the PIF - it's more of a national thing than a traditional sporting organisation - and unlike China or other states, political change isn't going to provide a distraction - it's a family, a collection of boys buying toys - if they want them they'll have them. FFP won't apply because they write the rules, they write the laws, Saudi Arabia is their garden, their home, a property disguised as a nation - you can't apply rules to someone about how they play a game in their own house.

I hate the Saudi attitude to stuff, I mean I get it, you buy everything because you have money today from oil and then hopefully when the oil runs out you're still relevant because you own everything - but they do nothing good for sport and not a fat lot of good for anything else. I hate what that says about the global values of the society we've made - that money will, should and does always trump any other kind of value - I guess that's not on them, it's on us, but I hate it as a symbol of it anyway.

At some point in the next twenty of thirty years we'll have a situation where every major final in sport is held in the Middle East - the final Grand Prix of the season, the Champions league final, every heavyweight championship fight, the World Cup, the Cricket World Cup, the Rugby World Cup - they'll all be there.

It's what we've been promoting for years and years and years.  They're just on catch up.

[The Moustache of Teale]

53 minutes ago, tomav84 said:

where do we think this is beheading? 

FTFY

[bielesibub]

Get ready for the FIFA WWCL sponsored by Saudi Arabia. 

[The Fun Factory]

1 hour ago, tomav84 said:

Like it or not, it probably warrants its own thread. they've got ronaldo and benzema. they're about to get zaha and kante. they're trying to get messi.

where do we think this is heading? a saudi team in the CL in the future? and something else i dont get...FFP is a FIFA thing right? how are they getting around this with these insane contracts they're giving players?

Merge with the premier league, and we play 10 games in the desert. Like the golf.

[tomav84]

12 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

I don't think you can ignore this - the Saudi's have a habit of following through on buying sports.

They'll start with the oldest big names, try to encourage some sort of relevancy and then start trying to poach players in their prime. The Premier League will be keeping a very close eye on this - it's a threat.

It's not even really a league like other leagues - the top four teams are all owned by the same thing and that thing is the PIF - it's more of a national thing than a traditional sporting organisation - and unlike China or other states, political change isn't going to provide a distraction - it's a family, a collection of boys buying toys - if they want them they'll have them. FFP won't apply because they write the rules, they write the laws, Saudi Arabia is their garden, their home, a property disguised as a nation - you can't apply rules to someone about how they play a game in their own house.

I hate the Saudi attitude to stuff, I mean I get it, you buy everything because you have money today from oil and then hopefully when the oil runs out you're still relevant because you own everything - but they do nothing good for sport and not a fat lot of good for anything else. I hate what that says about the global values of the society we've made - that money will, should and does always trump any other kind of value - I guess that's not on them, it's on us, but I hate it as a symbol of it anyway.

At some point in the next twenty of thirty years we'll have a situation where every major final in sport is held in the Middle East - the final Grand Prix of the season, the Champions league final, every heavyweight championship fight, the World Cup, the Cricket World Cup, the Rugby World Cup - they'll all be there.

 

 

i mean, if LIV and PGA can merge, is there anything stopping similar happening with UEFA for the right price? would all 55 members need to agree if such a thing was proposed or just a majority?

[Keyblade]

19 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

I don't think you can ignore this - the Saudi's have a habit of following through on buying sports.

They'll start with the oldest big names, try to encourage some sort of relevancy and then start trying to poach players in their prime. The Premier League will be keeping a very close eye on this - it's a threat.

It's not even really a league like other leagues - the top four teams are all owned by the same thing and that thing is the PIF - it's more of a national thing than a traditional sporting organisation - and unlike China or other states, political change isn't going to provide a distraction - it's a family, a collection of boys buying toys - if they want them they'll have them. FFP won't apply because they write the rules, they write the laws, Saudi Arabia is their garden, their home, a property disguised as a nation - you can't apply rules to someone about how they play a game in their own house.

I hate the Saudi attitude to stuff, I mean I get it, you buy everything because you have money today from oil and then hopefully when the oil runs out you're still relevant because you own everything - but they do nothing good for sport and not a fat lot of good for anything else. I hate what that says about the global values of the society we've made - that money will, should and does always trump any other kind of value - I guess that's not on them, it's on us, but I hate it as a symbol of it anyway.

At some point in the next twenty of thirty years we'll have a situation where every major final in sport is held in the Middle East - the final Grand Prix of the season, the Champions league final, every heavyweight championship fight, the World Cup, the Cricket World Cup, the Rugby World Cup - they'll all be there.

 

 

Classic case of "don't hate the player, hate the game"

[Xela]

Bet they can't afford Digne's wages. 

[Jono62]

Looks legit.

Edited June 6, 2023 by Jono62

[villan-scott]

Kante on his way too

 

[UpTheVilla26]

Joke league. 

Hopefully it will end up like the Chinese League did when they got a load of players over there on massive wages. 

Just shows that the modern day footballer is more interested in lining their pockets with dirty money than playing football. 

[tomav84]

looking at the whole golf merger, it seems to be somewhat of a hostile takeover. "we're buying world golf, like it or not" and the PGA essentially had to go with it

when the PIF bought newcastle, we all thought it was just sportswashing...we were wrong. they're thinking much bigger than that. watch out, they're coming for our beautiful game.

[Keyblade]

1 minute ago, tomav84 said:

looking at the whole golf merger, it seems to be somewhat of a hostile takeover. "we're buying world golf, like it or not" and the PGA essentially had to go with it

when the PIF bought newcastle, we all thought it was just sportswashing...we were wrong. they're thinking much bigger than that. watch out, they're coming for our beautiful game.

Not so beautiful now though is it? It's basically the same thing, spread out over multiple corporations instead of just 1. The game's been gone for a while. 

[tomav84]

Just now, Keyblade said:

Not so beautiful now though is it? It's basically the same thing, spread out over multiple corporations instead of just 1. The game's been gone for a while. 

i disagree that it's gone...all competitive matches still played in this country, league the same format its been for years, european competitions all still played in europe, FA cup final still at wembley with abide with me pre-kick off with prince william handing over the trophy

improvements are required, sure...city need to get properly done for their FFP breaches for example. but it could, and might, get a lot worse

[The_Steve]

This is a hostile takeover of football. Sportswashing on over drive. Nobody can compete with these wage structures. It's going to become nothing more than an exhibition league.

[useless]

This makes me think of the old North American Soccer League , when they were signing likes of Pele, Best, Cruyff and so on. I don't think you can just create a good league by signing top players, need to have a good pyramid system in place and academy system, if relying purely on signing big names from elsewhere I doubt it will work.

 

[Jareth]

I'd watch x4 all stars teams playing each other, it'd be fun. Then I'd watch the prem for actual sport. 

[useless]

Looks like Adama might be going over to play for Al-Ittihad, the team Nuno manages.

[Keyblade]

9 minutes ago, The_Steve said:

This is a hostile takeover of football. Sportswashing on over drive. Nobody can compete with these wage structures. It's going to become nothing more than an exhibition league.

This is what other countries think of English football.

[Davkaus]

9 minutes ago, The_Steve said:

This is a hostile takeover of football. Sportswashing on over drive. Nobody can compete with these wage structures. It's going to become nothing more than an exhibition league.

Some would argue that 1992 was a hostile takeover of football.

To some extent, I'd be slightly pleased to see the money flow out of the English game, I love the Villa, but the Premier League disgusts me, and a lower standard of football is a price I'd probably pay for it.

[duke313]

11 minutes ago, tomav84 said:

i disagree that it's gone...all competitive matches still played in this country, league the same format its been for years, european competitions all still played in europe, FA cup final still at wembley with abide with me pre-kick off with prince william handing over the trophy

improvements are required, sure...city need to get properly done for their FFP breaches for example. but it could, and might, get a lot worse

Give it time. Italian and Spanish Super Cups are already played abroad, won’t be long before Charity Shield is played in Saudi or Qatar, slippery slope from there.