Ruben Neves - Al-Hilal Agree £47m Fee for Wolves Midfielder

[Devil]

Like LIV golf this is the big plan of the Saudis. They want the super league in their country and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that's why they are buying up clubs in Europe.

Boxing, golf, football, formula 1.

They want to take all the big sports and the big stars to their league, they have the money to burn to do it.

Sky's on board mark my words.

[OrangeKhrush]

2 hours ago, Devil said:

Like LIV golf this is the big plan of the Saudis. They want the super league in their country and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that's why they are buying up clubs in Europe.

Boxing, golf, football, formula 1.

They want to take all the big sports and the big stars to their league, they have the money to burn to do it.

Sky's on board mark my words.

how many other western entities are on board?  I'm guessing a lot, because everyone knows how to butter their bread.

[The Palace Fan]

Hopefully they get Pep Guardiola next and the Premier League might become interesting again.

[RandoEFC+]

 

Seen this rumoured from two separate sources now. I have my doubts that it's reliable or that they'd risk being so brazen as to use this route to get a midfielder like him to Newcastle without having to worry about FFP, but just wondering if anyone else had seen it? I acknowledge it could be totally made up but would probably be the most obvious and explicit example of corrupt practice since FFP was introduced if they tried.

[Stan]

9 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

Seen this rumoured from two separate sources now. I have my doubts that it's reliable or that they'd risk being so brazen as to use this route to get a midfielder like him to Newcastle without having to worry about FFP, but just wondering if anyone else had seen it? I acknowledge it could be totally made up but would probably be the most obvious and explicit example of corrupt practice since FFP was introduced if they tried.

Generally, this is bad. But I have no doubt there will be favourable excuses made up to circumvent the sheer audacity of corruption here. 

[The Palace Fan]

13 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

 

Seen this rumoured from two separate sources now. I have my doubts that it's reliable or that they'd risk being so brazen as to use this route to get a midfielder like him to Newcastle without having to worry about FFP, but just wondering if anyone else had seen it? I acknowledge it could be totally made up but would probably be the most obvious and explicit example of corrupt practice since FFP was introduced if they tried.

I saw this two weeks ago but the sources were so dud I didn't bother posting it.

I'd argue that Joao Moutinho for 2m, or whatever it was, was a bigger rib on FFP so Wolves reap what they sow.

[Dan+]

Ruben Neves is a very weird case - he's a player who while on the up has now stepped down twice.

[Dan+]

On 18/06/2023 at 20:42, OrangeKhrush said:

I'm not sure this is a good career move for him.  It is however a sign of the pull of the Saudi league to add a non aging player with a solid name.

Said this on here the other week - the Benzema and Kante moves didn't really move me, as highly as I rate both they're both clearly slowing down and these sorts of leagues have made these sorts of moves before. But the sheer scale of the numbers was eye-catching, it's money that is going to tempt players even in their prime. This is the sort of move I'm talking about. They're actually making inroads that is beginning to affect the European game. I don't think they're messing about.

[OrangeKhrush]

3 minutes ago, Dan said:

Said this on here the other week - the Benzema and Kante moves didn't really move me, as highly as I rate both they're both clearly slowing down and these sorts of leagues have made these sorts of moves before. But the sheer scale of the numbers was eye-catching, it's money that is going to tempt players even in their prime. This is the sort of move I'm talking about. They're actually making inroads that is beginning to affect the European game. I don't think they're messing about.

I said yesterday it may force UEFA and the FA's of each country to relook at FFP limitations or risk losing money to an endless cash pool.   Everyone gives in when they can no longer butter their own bread,  the PGA succumbed or face more losses to LIV. 

[Reluctant Striker]

Yes, this 1 is odd. The guy is 26 & has been linked with Barcelona for the last couple of seasons. Not trying to say he's totally, absolutely, top tier kind of player. But it just feels very, very odd to me that a guy like this, at his age, is going there.

Any big club looking for midfielders would benefit from this guy. Including the leading Premier League sides.

[The Palace Fan]

 

 

[Rick]

I quite like that. Yes, he’s leaving purely for money, but it’s money that’s sets him and his family up for a lifetime.

[OrangeKhrush]

I hardly know of a player who doesn't move for money,  similar to ordinary people we all move to better opportunities.  

[6666]

I think the criticism of "he's moved for money" doesn't really hold much of a punch anymore. Yeah he probably has but that's normal. Always has been but I think football fans are now more accepting of that fact. Everyone can decide their own motivation and it's fine.

[Devil-Dick Willie]

14 hours ago, Rick said:

I quite like that. Yes, he’s leaving purely for money, but it’s money that’s sets him and his family up for a lifetime.

He has been a top level footballer for 6+ years, earning over a million pounds a season. He was already set for life. Fuck, give me just 1 million tax free and I could be set for life too.

This isn't even considering the fact his next move could have been to a bigger prem club on a 6 figures a week deal (if he's not on that already).

[Spike]

1 minute ago, Devil-Dick Willie said:

He has been a top level footballer for 6+ years, earning over a million pounds a season. He was already set for life. Fuck, give me just 1 million tax free and I could be set for life too.

This isn't even considering the fact his next move could have been to a bigger prem club on a 6 figures a week deal (if he's not on that already).

Yeah, how much money do people really fucken need? $100k would transform my life for the better, and set me up for stability. And that’s just some basic investing, nothing mental. 
 

But now he can put zero effort in, because who gives a fuck about the Saudi league? 

[Rick]

I don’t care how much money you think he has, it’s hard to turn down £600,000 a week after tax. He and his kids and their kids can be sorted. 

[Stan]

2 hours ago, Rick said:

I don’t care how much money you think he has, it’s hard to turn down £600,000 a week after tax. He and his kids and their kids can be sorted. 

But they'd have been sorted for life even if he stayed on that money at Wolves. 

[Rick]

I’m not getting myself into a position of defending footballers, I don’t care that much. 

[Honey Honey]

On 18/06/2023 at 23:00, Devil said:

Like LIV golf this is the big plan of the Saudis. They want the super league in their country and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that's why they are buying up clubs in Europe.

Boxing, golf, football, formula 1.

They want to take all the big sports and the big stars to their league, they have the money to burn to do it.

Sky's on board mark my words.

Is it worth the sustained tipping in of money? I don't know if it will continue to have value beyond an occasional marquee.

It's a PR stunt to both help promote their post-oil sci-fi city which requires western scientists and business people move there, their post-oil wealth fund which requires huge volumes of more western investments and to appeal to their increasingly young demographic to buy their loyalty to the autocracy. 

Within 10 years we will probably be reading articles about where did it all go wrong, they've already started to some degree.

Entertain the idea that it goes right, to their plans, then the Saudi's will end up a bigger player in our post-oil society than what they are now. 

[Spike]

6 hours ago, Stan said:

But they'd have been sorted for life even if he stayed on that money at Wolves. 

They’d have been sorted when he was 17 playing at Porto. Earning more than anyone on this forum already. 

[RandoEFC+]

Yeah if earning even an average Premier League wage of say £40k a week isn't enough to set yourself, your kids and your grandkids for life then I really don't know what is, unless you think that needs to include owning a multi-million pound estate, personal helicopter, and shit like that.

Also, am I the only person left in the world who doesn't want my kids to be "set for life" without having to go out into the world, develop themselves as human beings, contribute something and earn their keep to at least some extent? I feel like every person I know, either in person or those that I've seen/read about in various media whose parents are loaded enough that they'll never have to work ends up fucked up, either involved in some addiction or scandalous behaviour because they don't actually have anything to do. At best, they seem to turn out as really vain "influencers" or something who go around the world using their wealth to create dumb tourist videos for Instagram for attention. I'd rather my kids just grew up to be decent people who appreciate what they've got and value their relationships with other people more than they value money and material possessions. 

Obviously it would be nice to have enough money put aside to give them everything they want or need growing up and then potentially be able to offer some financial support that makes it easier for them to become homeowners or start a family than it is for our generation at the moment but even if I was loaded I don't think I'd ever be bragging about giving my kids so much money that they'll never have to work. And going back to the original topic, all of these footballers that you "can't blame" for going to Saudi Arabia because "anyone would take a pay rise like that" can absolutely already afford to do that and I just want to put it on record that if someone offered me £250,000 tax-free a year to go and teach Maths in the Middle East then I personally wouldn't do it. Maybe that's just me.

[Rick]

Wish I hadn’t said anything 

[RandoEFC+]

50 minutes ago, Rick said:

Wish I hadn’t said anything 

Wasn't just aimed at you by the way. Seen plenty of that discourse all over Twitter and stuff. I actually meant to make a post a few days ago but didn't have time so I didn't even remember when writing it who I was responding to. What you said is a really common and probably majority opinion to be fair.

[Cicero]

Who cares? This isn't a world infested with minimalists. There are people who live off £20,000 a year comfortably and probably find the bloke bending over backwards to earn £80,000 a year ridiculous. It's human nature to want more after you've been given a taste and if you truly are happy with what you have and don't need more even when offered, good for you. 

There are footballers who didn't have a pot to piss in growing up and had families sacrifice everything for their football career so I am not going to hold it against them if they want to ensure long term wealth, not to mention using that wealth to help their towns/villages/countries.