Sounds like it has also riled you up. Are you a Ronaldo fanatic?
Cristiano Ronaldo - Much Ado About Al Nassr
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
Seems you got a bit to interested as well. Messieber by any chance?
Nope, just being honest. Coming into a Ronaldo thread and trying to wind up Ronaldo fans seems a bit sad but you crack on.
Let me get this straight. He pioneered a move to Saudi Arabia, paving the way for a wealth of top talent to venture bravely into the arab world.
He's still scoring left, right and centre. Dominating games, terrorising defences, and striking fear into opponent hearts.
Yet he's an absolutely terrible footballer, nay human, who deserves nothing but ridicule and scorn.
Have I got that right?
He's still scoring left, right and centre. Dominating games, terrorising defences, and striking fear into opponent hearts.
Yet he's an absolutely terrible footballer, nay human, who deserves nothing but ridicule and scorn.
Have I got that right?
Welcome to the CAF. They don’t particularly like Ronaldo here. You get more activity on a Ronaldo thread from Ronaldo haters and or critics then Ronaldo fans themselves.
Go figure.
Is Ronaldo £££?
Only Ronaldo and deluded twitter cr7 fanboys believe that he is the reason for those moves.
I don't know how you define terrorising defenses or dominating games.
The other thing, I hope you do know that he moved to Saudi because no one in Europe wanted him. He thought once he forced his way out of United, top European clubs would be fighting for his signature after he checkmates Messi at Qatar 2022. He did not move voluntarily to Saudi.
Whoever invented the word 'cringe' had you in mind
IQ & Football don’t go together mate! That’s why you enjoy it so much & it’s linked to stuff like beer.
I love that people remember me more than I remember them.
Reminds me of all the opposite sex I slept with!
Andrew Tate is that you?!
IQ & Football don’t go together mate! That’s why you enjoy it so much & it’s linked to stuff like beer.
I love that people remember me more than I remember them.
Reminds me of all the opposite sex I slept with!
Stick to the Messi thread buddy.
There are lots of “Ronaldo fanboy” among professional footballer too, such as Mbappe, Haaland, Vinicius Junior, Rashford, Garnacho and Hojlund etc. Of course he is one of the factors paving the way for other footballers to join Saudi league, it’s naive to think he isn’t. Just look at how Mane recently do a Sui with Ronaldo and post it on his IG afterwards, like it or not the fanboy footballers are just everywhere and Ronaldo probably has undeniably the biggest influence in football.
They have had money for years but we’re never able to attract this level of talent all in one summer.
Your insane if you genuinely believe that the most famous athlete in the sport did not have a heavy influence on these players saying “hey if Ronaldo went, then I can go too and get paid”.
Of course money helps but Ronaldo was the IT factor and major domino that needed to fall to make this movement happen.
Because of his move Saudi league started being transmitted all over the world in major footballing countries because they wanted to have his games televised.
Not probably, it’s a fact. He is the most influential athletic in the world. If he had gone to MLS it would have brought a even bigger marketing influence on the league because he is a literal celebrity footballer.
Yep. A few people must have red faces at the way the Saudi league has picked up.
Proved me right. Fanboys buying that it was mainly Ronaldo. Delusional.
Ronaldo himself went for Money. Every footballer going there is being paid far more than in Europe. Before the Ronaldo investment, Saudi was not pumping this much into football. It is a project by the government, call it sports washing or whatever.
https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/ne...ldo-karim-benzema-are-picking-the-pro-league/
As for MLS, they can't compete financially with a government project funded by petrodollars. No way they can attract those players even if your idol moved there.
Why can't you be objective here and not lose the plot because the player in question is someone you dislike?
Saudi League has been around a long time and they have paid big salaries for a long time but no one ever spoke about them, even if you have the strongest dislike for Ronaldo it's fair to say his move there has completely changed the image of the league and the calibre of player they are buying. We don't know if it will last and be a success long term but it's hard to argue against a very easy to see fact.
Re MLS not competing financially, of course they can if they want to, Messi is earning insane amounts because he's got all these kickers with sponsors and extras outside of his salary. Both players have moved for money, both are now in poor leagues, neither is elite and it's absolutely fine that Father time has come around.
I don’t understand why everything have to be either black or white for you. Surely money would be the biggest deciding factor, but there are also other factors which would help making their decision easier. For example, the global appeal which Ronaldo brings along could be another deciding factor, I thought that’s pretty obvious to everyone.
4 points here:
1. I'm not complaining why they went there. Ronaldo's circumstances were different but beyond that it is nearing retirement and both players are allowed to cash in on their popularity.
2. The argument that players are going to Saudi because of Ronaldo is not true. Saudi only just started pumping money into football and that includes buying Newcastle and the Saudi PIF investing in top 4 clubs there. The money is the biggest attraction not Ronaldo as he himself and his famboys would have you believe.
3. Mls cannot afford to give contracts like that of Messi to every player. His contract is an exception being made to increase the popularity of the sport in the US.
Read the article
https://www.sportingnews.com/in/foo... simple answer as to,an early end by injuries.
Why are they not pushing to move only to al Nassr so they can play with him?
He put Saudi Arabia on the map. Before he turned up they were just a small little city in South Africa. Now look at them.
But you can surely see that Ronaldo being there is a massive factor? Saudi League isn't new and has been trying to lure foreign players for a while.
The fact you have used the term 'fanboys' (I assume you didn't mean famboys) gives me some pause to how objective you can be here.
Your point on MLS will extend to Saudi as well. They won't keep paying these salaries for ever, they want to bring the big names and get some prestige and then they won't have to pay as much. Exactly what happened with geologists and engineers in oil and gas and working for Aramco.
There is the argument though that Portugal wouldn't have made it to the final without him scoring for them.
Without the two against Hungary they go out in the group stage.
Without wanting to belittle Ronaldo, the Saudis increased their budget drastically this past year. If they offered €40m - €200m p. a. contracts before his move, lots of players would have gone there as well. They kickstarted this project by signing Cristiano since he's arguably still the biggest brand in world football but I think it is a bit farfetched to suggest his arrival is a major factor in other players' decisions to join Saudi clubs. For the quoted sums, the players in questions would have signed for whoever offered as much. It will play a role but a minor one in comparison to the money.
Nail on head.
Without Quaresma scoring vs Croatia and Eder vs France, they wouldn't have won it either.
Overall, his only good performance was vs Hungary. Anyone arguing that overall he had a good tournament is lying.
I don't think you're getting it, are you? It's not necessarily about wanting to play with Ronaldo. It's about moving to a league with some sort of legitimacy from a sporting perspective. Like it or not, Ronaldo's move was a huge coup and absolutely made it easier for other players to do the same. Having names like Ronaldo attached to the project lends it an air of legitimacy and glamour.
We'll never know but I think you're underplaying the effect of him going there. I don't understand why you think Saudi's paying top dollar would belittle any player though, money is obviously a massive factor for all these players who move to 'lesser' leagues.
There is only one reality that we can speak to with certainty and that is that Ronaldo was the pre planned figurehead to lure a huge amount of European based players to Saudi (the plan was obviously to get Ronaldo and Messi) and whilst I think the players so far fall into 2 categories (good but not elite & older players looking for their last contract) I think most would say this window has been a success for them - they are a topic of conversation, some good players have gone there and I feel Ronaldo has served his 'purpose' for them well.
I don't know what you're hinting at, I have belittled no players. And I didn't suggest the transfer window was unsuccessful for the Saudis. My point is: Players have been going to small leagues for decades when they were offered big paychecks. And those paychecks were nothing in comparison to the ones currently being at offer by Al Nassr and co.
Eto'o signed for a Russian club 10 years ago for a salary of €14m p. a., Xavi signed for Al Sadd for €10m p. a., Iniesta for Kobe for €22m, Oscar to China for €22m. But when Benzema is offered €200m or Mané €40m or Kanté €21m, they did it because of Cristiano? Come on. Players have always done this if they could earn significantly more. It is nothing new.
Not just that. Ogden and North Haverbrook too!
I dont get it either. Yeah Ronnie is pr, but when they offer absolutely silly money for players whom the biggest names are at the end of their careers. Its money talking. If the offers werent so exburant obviously they would turn them down.
I'm confused, you literally said you don't want to belittle a player - I said I don't know why you would think that you would with what you wrote? Maybe just a weird choice of word, reading back maybe you meant 'downplay'.
I don't think anyone is suggesting Ronaldo paved the way for big names to go to small leagues but it's very difficult to argue that he is the face of this new Saudi wave and, so far, it looks to have been working well for them.
After your reply I thought it odd to spend energy trying to argue against something that's very obvious and not in any way controversial, he's factually a very famous player and since he joined we've seen more players go there. So I checked your posting history and you are an extremely high volume poster in every Messi thread I can find and then I realised maybe this is what you do. This has nothing to do with comparing any players, it has nothing to do with if you like him or not - I personally think he's a cnut but it's a simple fact Ronaldo is a very very famous player, Saudi marketed his arrival in a mega way and now we're seeing a huge amount of players go there. Yes there is a lot of money being thrown about but you can't deny that having a globally famous football player working the PR angle for you is a huge boost for a country who have a reputation/image issue.
How is paving way for talent to go from European top leagues to state owned teams in the Saudi Pro League a good thing? It just blows my mind how anyone can think that.
He is the very definition of being a sportswashing tool.
Makes me wonder who is the biggest sportswashing tool we've had at United: Beckham or Ronnie. I'm inclined to go with the former, if only bc the latter at least makes his money while still playing.
I don't know who's worse. Beckham with his tears from Vox or the Saudi Regime.
Jesus feck you're like two virgin kids beating yourselves up on who gets to lick the ice cream.
I'm not a native speaker so 'downplay' might have been a better choice
Anyway, my motivation behind that line was to just point at that this isn't intended to ridicule Cristiano or whatever since some in here are a bit sensitive regarding this topic.I doubt anyone disagrees that he's the face of the Saudi league and their marquee signing. It's the "the Saudi league can now sign all those stars because of him" notion that I'm disagreeing with.
I can't deny that and I have never tried to deny it. Of course he brings lots of attention to the league and country, that's not up to debate. And for what they're building up, he's probably the best player they could sign.
What they pursue with it, whether or not that makes sense and so forth is a wholly different topic (and a very interesting one from an economic and political point of view, IMO) but I'd suggest we discuss this in the respective thread, not in here, because you can't say anything without it being interpreted in a Messi vs. Ronaldo way in here
I think the sportswashing angle is overstated. The Saudi regime is boastfull about the fact that their legal system is based on Sharia. I seem them buying big names in sports is simply prestige. Like driving coolest most expensive car. They have more money than they can spend. Its just showing off.
All good, thanks for clarification. I guess if I were to try and calculate it, I'd say 50/50 Ronaldo/Money and it sounds like you'd say like 25/75 Ronaldo/Money (or maybe even less, regardless I get your point).I'm not a native speaker so 'downplay' might have been a better choice
I doubt anyone disagrees that he's the face of the Saudi league and their marquee signing. It's the "the Saudi league can now sign all those stars because of him" notion that I'm disagreeing with.
I can't deny that and I have never tried to deny it. Of course he brings lots of attention to the league and country, that's not up to debate. And for what they're building up, he's probably the best player they could sign.
What they pursue with it, whether or not that makes sense and so forth is a wholly different topic (and a very interesting one from an economic and political point of view, IMO) but I'd suggest we discuss this in the respective thread, not in here, because you can't say anything without it being interpreted in a Messi vs. Ronaldo way in here
An interesting point on his role is it's really diminishing returns for him now (not financially of course), I personally think he was probably vital in the initial recruitment drive because it is a country with a huge image issue but now there are a lot of big names and his influence as the 'figurehead' will wane quickly. Saudi needed him for this recruitment push but next for them is to sign someone with more credibility as a 'current' elite player.
Just checked to see if any new players had joined and I didn't realise Malcolm had gone there from Zenit. Again he's probably in the good but not elite bracket but I thought we might see him in the PL or back in LL again.
Even if Ronaldo had been good enough to still play in Europe, the amount of money certain players have been offered would have been the only factor anyway.
The only reason Saudi Arabia haven't been able to get top players is because they've never gone after them in such a way before by offering eye watering levels of money.