2023 Summer transfer window - hopes, needs, expectations and rumours.

[mallo]

As I said before though, it's not directly comparable. Golf is a game for individuals, so if they get say, 20 of the top 40 players in the world to sign up, they've taken over half the sport in no time at all. Golfers also don't have fans of one player who take over a whole golf course just to watch that player. Golfers also just carry on playing most of their games on the same courses around the world that they did before.

To get anywhere close to that in football they'd have to take on FIFA, UEFA, and the incredibly powerful English, Spanish, Italian, German and French leagues, with a lot of teams in there who aren't short of a bob or two themselves. So sure, they're picking off a few players at the moment, and their league may actually become half decent after a few years, but I don't see how that leads to a pathway to them getting any more of a toehold in European football.

true but they are also buying up clubs in Europe etc now so their sphere of influence is growing. Plus we know FIFA UEFA etc can easily be bought by bags of cash

If they agree to pay a billion a year to european clubs to be in the CL then it'll get mooted. Similarly, they might instigate the breakaway league again in some form. They are disruptors and will do the same to football. It''s not like Chinese individuals playing out fantasies - they have a plan to get out of oil and sport is a big part of it.
I hope they fail but we all know how corrupt football authorities are. World cup Qatar....

[Dante Lavelli]

Yep the break away league is my prediction. They’ll own enough clubs in strategic leagues plus they know that Barca, Madrid and Juve are effectively bankrupt so would have to join.

Hopefully the media ignore the current Saudi league as the thing needs oxygen/money to gain credibility.

[Risso]

As I said before though, it's not directly comparable. Golf is a game for individuals, so if they get say, 20 of the top 40 players in the world to sign up, they've taken over half the sport in no time at all. Golfers also don't have fans of one player who take over a whole golf course just to watch that player. Golfers also just carry on playing most of their games on the same courses around the world that they did before.

To get anywhere close to that in football they'd have to take on FIFA, UEFA, and the incredibly powerful English, Spanish, Italian, German and French leagues, with a lot of teams in there who aren't short of a bob or two themselves. So sure, they're picking off a few players at the moment, and their league may actually become half decent after a few years, but I don't see how that leads to a pathway to them getting any more of a toehold in European football.

true but they are also buying up clubs in Europe etc now so their sphere of influence is growing. Plus we know FIFA UEFA etc can easily be bought by bags of cash

They've bought 75% of Newcastle. Who else?

[Monty]

As I said before though, it's not directly comparable. Golf is a game for individuals, so if they get say, 20 of the top 40 players in the world to sign up, they've taken over half the sport in no time at all. Golfers also don't have fans of one player who take over a whole golf course just to watch that player. Golfers also just carry on playing most of their games on the same courses around the world that they did before.

To get anywhere close to that in football they'd have to take on FIFA, UEFA, and the incredibly powerful English, Spanish, Italian, German and French leagues, with a lot of teams in there who aren't short of a bob or two themselves. So sure, they're picking off a few players at the moment, and their league may actually become half decent after a few years, but I don't see how that leads to a pathway to them getting any more of a toehold in European football.

true but they are also buying up clubs in Europe etc now so their sphere of influence is growing. Plus we know FIFA UEFA etc can easily be bought by bags of cash

If they agree to pay a billion a year to european clubs to be in the CL then it'll get mooted. Similarly, they might instigate the breakaway league again in some form. They are disruptors and will do the same to football. It''s not like Chinese individuals playing out fantasies - they have a plan to get out of oil and sport is a big part of it.
I hope they fail but we all know how corrupt football authorities are. World cup Qatar....

Ironic, because if it weren't for oil they'd have long ago been under sanctions and embargos so hard there'd be no country left.

[ozzjim]

Problem is, if they keep offering wages to players in their prime of £300k a week, the Saudi league will take 3-4 years to become one of the top 4-5 in the world. Especially if they fund all clubs to ensure it's competitive. Diaby is a very interesting case. £30-35m contract over 5 years at Villa, or £80m with less tax in Saudi. Do that enough times, they have a very decent league very quickly.

[VillaTim]

As I said before though, it's not directly comparable. Golf is a game for individuals, so if they get say, 20 of the top 40 players in the world to sign up, they've taken over half the sport in no time at all. Golfers also don't have fans of one player who take over a whole golf course just to watch that player. Golfers also just carry on playing most of their games on the same courses around the world that they did before.

To get anywhere close to that in football they'd have to take on FIFA, UEFA, and the incredibly powerful English, Spanish, Italian, German and French leagues, with a lot of teams in there who aren't short of a bob or two themselves. So sure, they're picking off a few players at the moment, and their league may actually become half decent after a few years, but I don't see how that leads to a pathway to them getting any more of a toehold in European football.

true but they are also buying up clubs in Europe etc now so their sphere of influence is growing. Plus we know FIFA UEFA etc can easily be bought by bags of cash

They've bought 75% of Newcastle. Who else?

might have a hidden stake in Chelsea and other clubs. I was referring more to the Middle East / Arab owners so including Abu Dhabi / Qatar etc as they will pool together to drive change in my opinion.

[coreyfeldman]

Problem is, if they keep offering wages to players in their prime of £300k a week, the Saudi league will take 3-4 years to become one of the top 4-5 in the world. Especially if they fund all clubs to ensure it's competitive. Diaby is a very interesting case. £30-35m contract over 5 years at Villa, or £80m with less tax in Saudi. Do that enough times, they have a very decent league very quickly.

even if they bought 10-15 players a year from top 5 european leagues, they'd still be missing out on homegrown players and the improvement that comes from the league system that are inherent in europe. I don't believe for one second you'd have a proper league anyway there, you'd have 4 or 5 clubs with 7-8 'big' players and then a load of absolute shite around it, would be crap to watch.

IMO the Saudi football thing is doomed to fail, I genuinely don't believe you can just buy teams out of nowhere and hope they players gel with mostly average to shit managers too. That doesn't account for the level of coaching/training within the teams that comes from experienced UEFA trained professionals. There's also no way that any player is going to want to live out there for more than 2-3 years so there's no longevity to it, and I bet you that within 6-12 months there'll be a pushback from the players who have gone who begin to understand what it's actually like to play for clubs run by Saudis who have the most horrific human rights crimes committed every single day.

[Monty]

I don't think the players are going to say a god damn thing.

[Vegas]

As I said before though, it's not directly comparable. Golf is a game for individuals, so if they get say, 20 of the top 40 players in the world to sign up, they've taken over half the sport in no time at all. Golfers also don't have fans of one player who take over a whole golf course just to watch that player. Golfers also just carry on playing most of their games on the same courses around the world that they did before.

To get anywhere close to that in football they'd have to take on FIFA, UEFA, and the incredibly powerful English, Spanish, Italian, German and French leagues, with a lot of teams in there who aren't short of a bob or two themselves. So sure, they're picking off a few players at the moment, and their league may actually become half decent after a few years, but I don't see how that leads to a pathway to them getting any more of a toehold in European football.

true but they are also buying up clubs in Europe etc now so their sphere of influence is growing. Plus we know FIFA UEFA etc can easily be bought by bags of cash

They've bought 75% of Newcastle. Who else?

might have a hidden stake in Chelsea and other clubs. I was referring more to the Middle East / Arab owners so including Abu Dhabi / Qatar etc as they will pool together to drive change in my opinion.

Qatar and Saudi have quite an intense rivalry. It’s a little better now than in 2017 when it was outright hatred and border blockades, but they are far from one entity.

[steamer]

Someone has to support them, who is going to watch endless exhibition type games between teams with no history or relevance.

[Villan82]

Don't we just wait it out until oil runs out....

Seriously though, it's obscene and disgusting to observe sports washing by deplorable regimes on this level and how weak the challenge to it has been from associations in supposedly Liberal countries pursuing a sustainability agenda.

[VillaTim]

I don't think the players are going to say a god damn thing.

they must be pinching themselves , you've got a situation now for example where Gerrard is now the 4th highest paid manager in the world. It's hideous unless you're the lucky one shovelling money into your bank

[Dave]

Who is going to watch endless exhibition type games between teams with no history or relevance.

Most of the bigger clubs date back to the 20s and 30s. Even the minor ones go back as far as the 50s.

[coreyfeldman]

I don't think the players are going to say a god damn thing.

Definitely not initially, but there's no way that after they've left there won't be crazy stories told on Peter Crouch's podcast or league of their own or whatever coming out.

I just can't see how anyone really thinks that you can just create a league out of nothing, in an environment and culture that is so vastly alien to everything that almost all of the players are used to. The money is what will get players there but nobody is staying out there for more than a couple of years, bet ya

[Dante Lavelli]

That’s the thing. The Saudi league only becomes relevant if the media pander to the galactico footballers.

They need/want a return on their investment but if no-one is interested in “Ronaldo” it will eventually collapse.