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.
Gary Neville believes the Premier League to stop the transfer of players to Saudi Arabia until it is certain the integrity of its competition is not being put at risk. ❌#BBCFootballpic.twitter.com/2pd9BhOW4d
Gary Neville believes the ongoing trend of transfers to the Saudi Pro League could be damaging to the beautiful game.
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.
Bernardo Silva is in his peak years & has been one of the best players in Europe for the last five years!
I wasn’t worried about the Saudi League taking players in their 30’s, a touch worried with players below the elite (Neves) but if this happens it feels like a game changer… https://t.co/hcDUbkGp30
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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Salford City FC have been bought out by a new consortium
Danny Jones
Another era beckons for Salford City as a buyout of the Greater Manchester football club by a new consortiumhas been announced.
Well, sort of.
Salford City FC were famously the subject of a joint takeover by Singaporean businessman Peter Lim and members of Manchester United’s Class of ’92 over a decade ago, and now 11 years on from that last milestone moment in their history, the local side has a new administration once again.
It is a fresh chapter for the club, but supporters will be glad to hear that there will also be some continuity and key throughline of consistency among some of those at the top.
Salford City announces that the Club has been acquired by a new ownership group led by David Beckham and Gary Neville, and includes US-based businessman Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies who will both serve as new Co-Chairs of the Club’s board.
Led by Man United legends Gary Neville and David Beckham, who have been involved with Salford since 2014, the new nine-member consortium consists of the Dream Sports Group – a leading sports technology company based in India – along with a number of other key figures.
One of those is Lord Mervyn Davies, a former Labour MP and Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Small Business, who still serves as a trade envoy between the UK and Sri Lanka.
Another is Irish-American entrepreneur Declan Kelly, who is Chairman and CEO of The Consello Group, a global advisory and investing firm.
While the previous co-owners and fellow Class of ’92 United graduates are no longer shareholders at Moor Lane, it is said they will still play important roles at the club.
As the official statement reads, “The acquisition includes a commitment by the new shareholders to invest significantly in the Club, the team and its facilities”, meaning there will funds will likely be sweet aside not only for some healthy transfer business but more updates to the Peninsula Stadium.
Commenting on the announcement, Neville said: “I’m passionate about Salford City. This is a unique partnership with a diverse range of minds and expertise, held together by a love of football.
“Football will come first, however, it’s critical that we drive the Club towards sustainability in the next 4-5 years. I can’t wait for the next part of this journey.”
Meanwhile, Beckham went on to add in the excitable Instagram post seen above: “Salford played such an important role in my life growing up… It’s where I trained with United alongside my best mates every day, it’s where I bought my first house and where me and Victoria lived.
“I’m so proud to be part of a new ownership group alongside my mate [Neville] as we begin the next chapter of Salford’s journey. Football is at the heart of this community and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Ammies.
Chester Zoo’s sellout 10k charity run returns this summer with three new routes
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo has announced that its popular Run For Nature is back again this summer, and this year, there’s three new routes to run.
The UK’s biggest charity zoo saw success with similar sold-out events in 2023 and 2024, and is now looking for 2,500 runners to sign up for one of the North West’s most unique athletic experiences when it returns later this year – with all funds raised from the popular event going towards efforts to protect highly-endangered giraffes in Africa.
Participants will this year take on a brand-new route winding through more of the zoo than ever before, and enjoying glimpses of elephants, lemurs, and other incredible species along the way, before heading out into the picturesque Cheshire countryside.
Chester Zoo is inviting runners of all abilities to take part this year, as there’s a new 5km run added to the usual 10km route, and even a one-mile ‘Zoom’ fun run for kids aged four-15.
With only 2,500 places up for grabs, organisers say the event is expected to sell out quickly, just like it has the past two years, as runners race to support a very special cause.
All proceeds from this year’s Run For Nature in September will go directly towards protecting Nubian giraffes in East Africa – a species which has seen drastic population declines in the wild due to habitat loss, poaching and conflict with humans.
Chester Zoo’s sellout 10k charity run is returning this summer with three new routes / Credit: Chester Zoo
Runners will receive a wooden medal at the finish line and free entry to the zoo for the remainder of the day, so they can relax and celebrate their achievement among 30,000 amazing animals.
If that didn’t all sound brilliant enough as it is, top fundraisers from the day will also be in with a chance of winning some exciting prizes too, including annual zoo memberships, animal adoptions, and even special behind-the-scenes zoo experiences.
“We’re thrilled to be bringing back Run For Nature for a third incredible year,” explained Sarah Jones, who is the Fundraising Lead at Chester Zoo.
“We’ve now doubled the distance runners spend inside the zoo, so they’ll pass by even more iconic animals, [making it] a really special experience you won’t get anywhere else.”
Run For Nature is back at Chester Zoo this Sunday 21 September, and you can find out more and sign up to take part here.
Danny Jones -
22nd June 2023 
