People value their life too much for that to happen
City's "sponsors" do not exist
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
Irrelevant football club and always will be.
I think it’s actually more worrying if the figures are correct. That would mean the plan has been completed. Break the rules for long enough that you’ve built up enough of an advantage to succeed within the system. Kind of like a gangster who manages to launder enough of his money to acquire legitimate businesses and go straight.
The figures they report are more than likely correct it’s where that money comes from is the issue.
Dodgy “sponsorships” being the main one.
Eventually they will build their empire. India is full of City fans now and given superstars like Haaland, appeal will grow across Europe as well.
Like it or not, football fans are fickle.
Continuous top of the table positions + CL later stages is enough of a base to build a legitimate side.
Yep, it's worked. Which was pretty obvious from the start, they had competent people, were in the right environment in terms of global appeal, and just too much money for them to fail.
I understand that. My point is that by laughing in the face of any sort of FFP, they may now have put themselves in the position to generate legitimate funds.
For example, I keep reading in this thread how they Harland deal is “clearly” dodgy. But any top club could have afforded Haaland’s release clause and fat signing on / agent’s fees. The reason he went to City is likely because under Pep they are a striker’s dream and he has a huge chance of winning trophies. Add in the family connection and the fact that he can always play for, say, Real Madrid later on in his career and the choice becomes pretty simple.
In short, Harland isn’t playing for City because of any thing that happened this year.
The scary thing is not that City are currently getting away with huge fraudulent deals. It’s that they no longer have to.
The objective of sports washing is achieved, well done!
What I wonder is, should they decide to pull out, what would the club, with no actual sponsors, be worth and would legitimate sponsors then come on board, with sufficient funds to continue the current model.
They have no need or desire to sell given there’s no monetary incentive for them, the billions they’ve poured into City are a drop in the ocean.
IF they did, the club would appear completely legitimate. They’d just get a point where they can run legally (which they must be close to albeit their covid numbers were laughably suspicious), wait until a sufficient length of time has passed so any challenges can be time barred again and hey presto.
I always see this but citys global reach and supposed fanbase is grossly over stated. It’s ten years since United even got close to a title and city have won what 6? yet you still see significantly more kids in United tops in differing cities around the world . These kids have never seen a good United team in their life yet they more of them are still choosing United over them. I’m still waiting for this point in time where cities global growth is reflected amongst fans of the world .
the funds aren’t “legitimate” though. Yes they are on a balance sheet somewhere but we all know where they come from.
The horse has already bolted.
It’s already too late to stop it and Newcastle will go down exactly the same route eventually. They can’t make it too obvious from the word go, but you can guarantee that they will acquire some extremely generous sponsors sooner rather than later
But their sponsors don't exist. Any potential purchaser would, sooner rather than later, have to find legitimate sponsors. Adidas, Nike etc and wouldn't be able to pay back handers to the players, under the counter via more made up sponsorship deals.
You'd probably have a dollar. I'm sure there are some sponsors out there that nobody knows about yet.
Can't we just concentrate on the football?
Not a surprise.
City is most likely to attract fans from Asia, as the continent as a whole doesn't have notable history in Football, so they rather support a club from another country, especially with cable TV being very available nowadays.
In Europe, in the most populated countries (Germany,Spain,Italy, and France) you barely will find people supporting english clubs, let alone City, because they do have their own clubs and history.
In terms of pure numbers, the biggest market for all english clubs(including City) will always be Asia, due to how populated is the continent and lack of proper local football history will push asian fans to look outside.
Man Utd has massive support in the scandinavian region, but in pure numbers, they are a minority in the international Man Utd fanbase, whose most are located in the asian continent indeed.
I doubt Haaland will attract a big european fanbase for City, if it does it will be in smaller countries like Austria,Czech Republic, Sweden, etc not in Germany,France, Italy, or Spain, so in mere numbers it won't be a big increase...they are aiming for the asian market.
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City brand will be big in Asia, it's just a matter of time.
Sure it won't increase much in Europe, cause continental european fans have their own clubs to support in their own countries.
But in Asia, which lacks a proper national football history, they sure will get a lot of new fans who grew up watching City dominate english football.
Chelsea already made a lot of fans in Asia since Roman Abramovich bought the club, it will be the same with City, it's just a matter of time.
United still have the appeal, but if time keeps passing, and they don't challenge for the league, they will indeed lose young supporters to teams like City and Chelsea.
If they had any interest in selling, they can continue to self fund until they become attractive enough that they can swap out the fake or ADUG related sponsors and sell with real sponsors eventually.
Not when they are bent as anything
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I don’t understand why this isn’t investigated by authorities above the FA. It’s money laundering.
Because they don't care as City spending big bucks brings more eyes to the league.
They want mega billions Newcastle and City to disrupt the order of things, that way you get more big matches and more interest in the league.
If a team like Southampton went slightly over budget you could bet they'd come down on them like a ton of bricks though.
They do for now but it's short term thinking. Yeah the PL is the most watched because there are genuine giant clubs like United and Liverpool competing alongside new money like City. But there's a decent chance 10-15 years from now the league will be a perpetual two horse race between Abu Dhabi City and Saudi Arabia United. Then the league will go the way of Germany, Spain and France.
Making money in the short and medium term is the goal. Long term is tomorrow's problem and they can always live off the legacy for a few years like the Glazers at United.
The Premier League won't be able to perpetually remain top dog but if they do it for the next 10-15 years then that's nothing to worry about for them at this moment in time
Yep that's almost certainly the thinking behind it
The idea - which seems obvious to many of us - that teams like City are "plastic" could become obsolete. It already is to (many) kids. My nephew, for instance, is just as obsessed with football as I was when I was his age - he lives and breathes it in much the same way. Except he doesn't have a favourite team. At the moment he likes City (mainly because of De Bruyne but increasingly also because of Haaland) and Barcelona (because of Lewandowski). He used to like Bayern (because of Lewandowski), but not anymore (because Lewandowski left).
When he argues with his mates about who's best, it's hardly ever about teams but about individuals: Haaland vs Mbappé, basically. The idea that City and PSG are tainted, plastic, unnatural - and so forth - means nothing to them. Granted, they're still just kids - but in football fandom, what you do, feel and think as a kid tends to be hugely formative.
I can easily see a future (not too distant either) where the appeal of traditional powerhouses (aristocrats) is (further and further) diminished and the importance of "legacy" fans even more so.
When he argues with his mates about who's best, it's hardly ever about teams but about individuals: Haaland vs Mbappé, basically. The idea that City and PSG are tainted, plastic, unnatural - and so forth - means nothing to them. Granted, they're still just kids - but in football fandom, what you do, feel and think as a kid tends to be hugely formative.
I can easily see a future (not too distant either) where the appeal of traditional powerhouses (aristocrats) is (further and further) diminished and the importance of "legacy" fans even more so.
UK authorities are turning a blind eye to money laundering (a serious crime by all measures) because they want the PL to be more popular?
Yes, does that even surprise you?
London is a money laundering hotspot
https://www.business-standard.com/a...ub-for-global-dirty-money-122080800959_1.html
https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/world-...on-money-laundering-capital-of-the-world.html
Let's not even forget all the money that football attracts into the economy. Just because it's a crime doesn't mean the government will make serious efforts to stop it. We currently have one of the most cronyistic parties in power.
The money laundering doesn't surprise me. I've said plenty of times that with the amount of foreign money that is shushed into the UK, the idea of Abu Dhabi needing to sportswash further is hilarious.
It's the idea of them wanting laundered money for the purpose of increasing the PL's popularity that's a bit tenuous.
You know that Halaand with all fees included is on CR7 type money for a 21 year old with very limited marketing appeal.
But in this example the plastic clubs aren’t attractive enough to siphon your nephew as a fan?
Thread title should be 'City do not exist'
Manchester City Football Club ceased to exist when it was taken over and rebranded in 2008 and it's sole purpose now is to exist as a vessel for Abu Dhabi's global sports-washing project. They're basically Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi Football Franchise West-European Men's Team
Manchester City Football Club ceased to exist when it was taken over and rebranded in 2008 and it's sole purpose now is to exist as a vessel for Abu Dhabi's global sports-washing project. They're basically Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi Football Franchise West-European Men's Team
They may not necessarily want it but they'll turn a blind eye so long as it's not too blatant and can be shushed away.
It's going to be pretty funny to see what happens to City once Pep leaves and the owners start to get bored with it all. They'll vanish as quick as they appeared and hardly anyone will care or even remember their dominance in years to come. Plastic little club
I think they'll just end up as late stage Abramovich Chelsea. Not dominating but regularly near the top. I think they're edging closer to self-sustainability.
That's the FIFA message to the FAs moaning about playing in Qatar.
The government work hand in glove with the oil rich countries. They are not going to embarrass their mates. That's why the Saudis got through the fit and proper person test with Newcastle.
How quickly would they deteriorate if they switched from an owner who pumps money in to a Glazer-style asset-stripping owner? Wouldn't take long IMO.
Sportswashing 101, it's all about optics.
"City Sports Group" isn't really about winning trophies, it's about positioning themselves (and by extension, Abu Dhabi) as a credible global brand and leader to sell the story and further the political agenda. Profits and revenues (however false) are a key piece of that.
"City Sports Group" isn't really about winning trophies, it's about positioning themselves (and by extension, Abu Dhabi) as a credible global brand and leader to sell the story and further the political agenda. Profits and revenues (however false) are a key piece of that.
Because they own half of your fecking country, that's why. Half of what you think it;s yours, it's theirs.