Gary Neville is calling on the Premier League to block transfers to the Saudi Pro League following the latest raft of players heading for the controversial Gulf nation.
With the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante becoming the most recent big names to make the big money moves to Saudi Arabia, the former Manchester United man turned pundit has raised concerns over the protecting the “integrity of the game”.
Speaking to BBC Sport earlier this week, Neville urged the governing bodies at Premier League to put an embargo on all potential transfers until the proper measures have been to taken to vet the money changing hands and examine the wider impact on both English and world football.
The 48-year-old commentator and presenter insisted that “checks should be made on the appropriateness of the transactions”, adding that “if it comes through that process, obviously transfers could open up again” but warning that, until then, it would be wise to allow them to continue.
Neville went on to say, “I do believe, at this moment in time, transfers should be halted until you look into the ownership structure at Chelsea and whether there are beneficial transfer dealings that are improper.”
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For context, Chelsea spent in excess of £400 million on singing over the past two transfer windows and are one of many clubs being looked at regarding Financial Fair Play (FFP), including Everton and Manchester City, the lattermost having been hit with over 115 charges of breaching regulations.
Chelsea are also one of the main clubs that look to be offloading some of their surplus players — many of whom are considered to be ‘in their prime’ — to Saudi Arabia, with Kante having already made the switch, as well Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech now being linked with transfers to the Gulf state.
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Other big Premier League names like Arsenal’s Thomas Partey, Wolves captain Rúben Neves, and now even City star Bernardo Silva are either being linked with or are soon to finalise deals with wealthy Saudi clubs such as Al Hilal, Al Nassr and Al Ittihad.
As you can see, Neville isn’t the only one who is becoming progressively more worried by Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in the sport, with his Sky Sports and Monday Night Football colleague Jamie Carragher admitting that being able to draw in top players at this age “feels like a game changer”.
He went on to say: “Saudi have taken over golf, the big boxing fights and now they want to take over football!! This sportswashing needs to be stopped!”
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This is obviously not the first time that we’ve had other wealthy nations try and make themselves a major footballing competitor, with similar concerns being raised over the Chinese Super League just a few years ago, but they never really made any real marquee signings and the bubble seemed to burst.
Is the ambitious Saudi Pro League something you’re concerned about or, like China, do you think it will all blow over in a year or two?
Featured Image — Al-Ittihad/Sky Sports (via Twitter)
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Ex-Man United man Louis Saha says Old Trafford’s deterioration shows a ‘lack of respect’ for the fans
Danny Jones
Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has come to claim that the deterioration of Old Trafford is disrespectful to the fans.
The retired French forward, who represented the club 120 times and scored 42 goals during his time at the club between 2004-08, has come to the defence of the Man United faithful, insisting that the stadium is simply no longer up to the standard.
Speaking to Paddy Power earlier this week, the Red Devils old number nine said, “The state of Old Trafford shows a lack of respect to the supporters. They pay for tickets, create the atmosphere, and they need to have a better experience.
“The images of the roof leaking are ridiculous for those who are proud of the club, it’s unacceptable. It’s a bad sign that the investment has not been made in the right place at the right time.” In case you missed it, the Theatre of Dreams looked more like some kind of drowning nightmare after last week’s flooding.
“I’ve heard Gary Neville complain about it many times, and he’s been warning the club about it for a while”, Saha continued. “For it to get to that point, it was really embarrassing.
Flooding was just spotted in the stands but there were various reports and clips posted on social media showing interior leaks, including in the away dressing room.
The 45-year-old went on to say: “It’s symbolic, but it means a lot. For a fan that has paid so much for their membership and ticket, they haven’t been respected. It needs to be addressed – fans should not be seeing this.”
Fans have been complaining about various problems with Old Trafford‘s infrastructure for years now as despite being one of the most valuable football clubs in the world, Man United’s home ground and various other facilities are widely considered to be pretty outdated.
New co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already intimated that he would rather build an entirely new stadium than renovate Old Trafford, especially since it has been estimated that it would cost more to repair and redevelop the existing structure than it would start from scratch.
There have also been plenty of mock-ups as to what a ‘New Trafford’ might look like should the prospective plans be greenlit. Mayor Andy Burham has already been appointed as part of the new stadium ‘taskforce’ and says it could prove to be the biggest regeneration scheme in the country.
Be it giving the iconic football stadium some much-needed TLC or providing the fans with an entirely new one, it’s fair to say the club can’t expect to return to their glory days by allowing Old Trafford to continue deteriorating and letting its legacy slip into squalor.
Featured Images — Web Summit (via Flickr)/Wikimedia Commons/The Manc Group
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Man City confirm Ederson will miss rest of the season following fractured eye socket
Danny Jones
Manchester City have revealed that goalkeeper Ederson will miss the final two games of the season after suffering a fractured eye socket following a hefty collision earlier this week.
City’s second-choice keeper Stefan Ortega was forced to come on and produce some heroics against Tottenham on Tuesday night after Ederson was on the receiving end of a forceful challenge from centre-back Cristian Romero, ultimately being hooked off despite trying to play on for a few more minutes.
The Brazilian number one was left visibly upset by the decision, thrashing his seat on the bench and planting his head in his hands following the understandably cautious substitution, but it proved to be the right move the club has now confirmed a bone-break around his eye.
With manager Pep Guardiola having already to press after the game that Ederson has a “problem with his eye” and “could not see” properly, the club have now confirmed that he will now be out for the rest of the season.
As detailed in the update, scans revealed a “small fracture” of his right eye socket and being struck by the leg and hip of the Spurs defender.
It was clear that all was not well in the immediate aftermath of the two players clashing as the 30-year-old was left lying on the floor for some time and medical staff were rushed over.
Although concussion was ultimately ruled out and only the fracture has been confirmed, Ederson did go on to slip with his first kick of the ball and was seen shaking his head as if to shrug off the impact in the following moments.
He was also pictured with a very noticeable black eye following the full-time whistle.
This obviously means that in addition to missing Man City’s last Premier League game of the season against West Ham this weekend, where they might very well lift their fourth consecutive title, he will also miss the FA Cup final against Man United.
With it being just the second Manchester derby cup final in history, a second in a row as it happens, he, the team and the fans will obviously be gutted to be without their go-to shot-stopper.
Nevertheless, it’s a relief to see his safety being prioritised not only during the same on Tuesday night but in the days since and if there’s one thing it proved it’s that Ortega is more than capable of filling in for him when needed.
As any fan would following a scary injury like that, we join the club in wishing him a speedy recovery.