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With the Saudi stuff I feel like we're just at the beginning of another cycle of a league getting big money injections and trying to raise its profile by signing big names. It happened with MLS, it happened with China, it happened with the smaller Gulf states like Qatar on a smaller scale, I even remember it happening with the Russian league when it was flush with oil cash. Every time what's happened is some older players go to pick up big paychecks at the end of their career, a few younger players go there to waste some years of their career from some combination of sketchy agent shenanigans, wanting the big payouts, or falling for the hype that this is the league of the future, and after a few years it all dies down again when everybody remembers that the best players want to be playing for prestige clubs in the Champions League instead of competing for nothing in a Mickey Mouse league, and eventually the people injecting all the money get impatient, stop throwing their money in a big hole, and discover that actually the league isn't sustainable or popular without huge ongoing cash injections. Maybe this is the time that finally breaks the trend and Saudi Arabia becomes the new heart of world football, but I doubt it.
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Jun 26, 2023 15:30
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Is there any chance the Saudis bribe their way into being allowed into UEFA/Champions League?
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Jun 26, 2023 15:42
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Average Lettuce posted:Is there any chance the Saudis bribe their way into being allowed into UEFA/Champions League? Can they out-bribe the Israelis?
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Jun 26, 2023 15:44
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Paperhouse posted:It's literally 4 hours away in a car ffs. Imagine not going to the best club in the world and winning everything because you're a bit too far away from your mam. Buy them a house in Manchester, buy them one halfway between Manchester and London as well, why not
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Jun 26, 2023 20:23
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hosed up thing to imagine
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Jun 26, 2023 20:30
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Who doesn’t want to be the next Kalvin Phillips?
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Jun 26, 2023 20:36
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Big shoes to fill for sure
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Jun 26, 2023 22:35
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That's treble winner Kalvin Phillips to you
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Jun 26, 2023 22:39
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L.H.O.O.Q. posted:Big shorts to fill for sure
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Jun 26, 2023 22:53
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city bid rejected already apparently lol
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Jun 26, 2023 23:10
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UnderFreddy posted:city bid rejected already apparently lol Was a bit of a silly bid when we already had 75+15 turned down, and are reportedly returning with a 3rd bid. That said, I think City have probably turned his head, and have it in the bag. They would never submit a bid on a player who is going to pick Arsenal over them. That would be beyond even Boehly's tolerance for humiliation. Wouldn't be surprised to see that we have pulled out of the race for Rice, rather than go in another bid, and are turning our attention to Caicedo.
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Jun 26, 2023 23:31
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Average Lettuce posted:Is there any chance the Saudis bribe their way into being allowed into UEFA/Champions League? My guess is they ensure plenty of spots for the AFC in this new FIFA Club World Cup.
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Jun 27, 2023 00:05
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do foreign players live in a gated community outside Riyadh where they can have western lives and their wives aren’t considered chattel or is it very 
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Jun 27, 2023 00:28
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vyelkin posted:With the Saudi stuff I feel like we're just at the beginning of another cycle of a league getting big money injections and trying to raise its profile by signing big names. It happened with MLS, it happened with China, it happened with the smaller Gulf states like Qatar on a smaller scale, I even remember it happening with the Russian league when it was flush with oil cash. Every time what's happened is some older players go to pick up big paychecks at the end of their career, a few younger players go there to waste some years of their career from some combination of sketchy agent shenanigans, wanting the big payouts, or falling for the hype that this is the league of the future, and after a few years it all dies down again when everybody remembers that the best players want to be playing for prestige clubs in the Champions League instead of competing for nothing in a Mickey Mouse league, and eventually the people injecting all the money get impatient, stop throwing their money in a big hole, and discover that actually the league isn't sustainable or popular without huge ongoing cash injections. Maybe this is the time that finally breaks the trend and Saudi Arabia becomes the new heart of world football, but I doubt it. The Saudis seem to have more money than the past groups of oligarchs who have dumped money into football. They also seem to think that sportswashing is actually something that confers a benefit on them, so they may actually have the determination to Lee going with this. I just don’t see how a bunch of stars playing in the desert for teams with no known history outside of Saudi Arabia will ever be interesting viewing. Seems like their money would be better spent hosting events and sponsoring/buying teams.
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Jun 27, 2023 01:20
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emjayo posted:do foreign players live in a gated community outside Riyadh where they can have western lives and their wives aren’t considered chattel or is it very there's no loving way they're going to be subject to those insane rear end laws lol be fr
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Jun 27, 2023 01:55
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tbp posted:there's no loving way they're going to be subject to those insane rear end laws lol be fr i bet they live in a house, a very big house, in the kingdom
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Jun 27, 2023 03:27
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Perhaps they and their WAGs could all live in one big house and it could be televised and viewers could vote to boot out individuals after every match day
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Jun 27, 2023 03:35
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I would like to see a bunch of English footballers having to live in a country where it's a production to buy alcohol, even for rich expats, but I'm sure the league owners will try to keep the players in their own little world and have something set up. https://gulfbusiness.com/saudi-tourism-official-clarifies-countrys-stand-on-alcohol-consumption/ And most of the players going over to Saudi Arabia are older and probably past the partying stage, so whatever inconveniences there are will probably get shrugged off and they'll just run their contracts down and retire.
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Jun 27, 2023 04:21
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Can't wait for different clubs based at different ends of the Neom building to be described as a derby by some retired Sky commentator
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Jun 27, 2023 09:21
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I think the Saudis probably care about the following: -winning Asian continental cups -dick waving among local rivals/families and/or the wider Arab world -spectacle for the people in Saudi Arabia
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Jun 27, 2023 10:04
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blue footed boobie posted:The Saudis seem to have more money than the past groups of oligarchs who have dumped money into football. They also seem to think that sportswashing is actually something that confers a benefit on them, so they may actually have the determination to Lee going with this. I just don’t see how a bunch of stars playing in the desert for teams with no known history outside of Saudi Arabia will ever be interesting viewing. Seems like their money would be better spent hosting events and sponsoring/buying teams. They definitely have more money and more motivation when it comes to sportswashing, that's why they're making moves in so many areas at once like taking over golf and trying to get the World Cup and so on. That could be different. But I don't think shoveling billions of dollars into the Saudi league is going to accomplish what they think it will, and after a few years they'll realize that and it will die like the rest of the oligarch money projects outside big leagues have in the past. Anzhi Makhachkala didn't stop because the owner ran out of money, it stopped because they didn't win the champions league within two years and he got bored and decided to stop lighting his money on fire. The fact that the Saudis have even more money than that guy doesn't mean they won't come to the same conclusion when signing 38-year-old Ballon d'Or winners on nine-figure contracts doesn't make the Saudi Pro League more popular than the Premier League overnight.
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Jun 27, 2023 13:17
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vyelkin posted:The fact that the Saudis have even more money than that guy doesn't mean they won't come to the same conclusion when signing 38-year-old Ballon d'Or winners on nine-figure contracts doesn't make the Saudi Pro League more popular than the Premier League overnight. I haven't even seen a Saudi League highlight outside of things posted here to lol at Ronald. I don't think the world sees this as anything more than idle curiosity and oogling the money being bandied about. In five years we'll be probably be going "whatever happened to Ruben Neves" much like we have every once in a while with Oscar.
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Jun 27, 2023 13:28
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Shrapnig posted:I haven't even seen a Saudi League highlight outside of things posted here to lol at Ronald. I don't think the world sees this as anything more than idle curiosity and oogling the money being bandied about. In five years we'll be probably be going "whatever happened to Ruben Neves" much like we have every once in a while with Oscar. Yeah the real legacy will be people who have a favourite player that ended up in Saudi Arabia grumbling about it forever, the way I'm still annoyed that Hulk wasted his prime footballing years in Russia and China.
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Jun 27, 2023 13:30
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https://twitter.com/TheAthleticFC/status/1673677747896418307?s=19
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Jun 27, 2023 14:24
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lol
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Jun 27, 2023 14:37
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sue them for breach of contract David
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Jun 27, 2023 14:38
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Not much of a contract if you can sign it and the other party goes 'lol just kidding' Time to do all the winston bogarde moves
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Jun 27, 2023 14:44
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finally some good news
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Jun 27, 2023 14:51
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the sex ghost posted:Not much of a contract if you can sign it and the other party goes 'lol just kidding' He can live up the next 3 days until his contract expires however he'd like.
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Jun 27, 2023 14:59
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Double postin' The rumor is that Inter's representatives are in Manchester to finalize Onana's move to United. Played for ten Hag at Ajax, loves a diet pill, seems cool and good.
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Jun 27, 2023 15:04
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elbkaida posted:-dick waving among local rivals/families and/or the wider Arab world this is haram
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Jun 27, 2023 15:55
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FM Wonderkid from 2012 Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City is a Done Deal https://twitter.com/ManCity/status/1673738941088907275
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Jun 27, 2023 18:34
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Can’t wait to see Pep coach him into a world beater out of loving nowhere
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Jun 27, 2023 18:37
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Out of nowhere is quite a stretch for a guy who has won the Champions League four (4) times.
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Jun 27, 2023 18:43
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I just don't get that guy. What does he do?
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Jun 27, 2023 19:05
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notaspy posted:I just don't get that guy. What does he do? He kicks footballs for big teams. And Chelsea.
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Jun 27, 2023 19:16
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Vegetable posted:Can’t wait to see Pep coach him into a world beater out of loving nowhere he's already good and will probably thrive outside of the chelsea shitshow
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Jun 27, 2023 19:17
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He’s proof that you can be middling at your job and still be wildly successful
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Jun 27, 2023 19:17
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Vegetable posted:He’s proof that you can be middling at your job and still be wildly successful 
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Jun 27, 2023 19:38
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https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/1673731706673676302 Spurs did a thing
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