As long as no one in their prime goes there they will have no stars, so if you ask me they have zero stars at the moment. I guess Neymar isn't that old, but Mbappe wouldn't even talk to them.
In the space of 1 transfer window, the Saudi League has more stars than the PL… is it a symptom of City being allowed to freely cheat?
- Thread starter Rhyme Animal
- Start date
That’s Wild(e)!
Yep all City’s fault! 
Just wait for next year fifa ultimate team. Every body will be running a team full of saudi league players and interest on that league will increase hugely.
Ultimately, without the actual Champions League, the Saudi PL just will never be able to topple the big 5 European leagues.
This is China again, with some added glitz, glam and royalty thrown into the mix. Players are not going there to make it better or to play competitively, they're going because they're receiving offers which simply cannot be refused.
If Salah managed to leave, he's not going because he's desperate to leave Liverpool. He's going because he's secured absolute guaranteed generational wealth and access to a 30 bedroom mansion as well as a private jet
This is China again, with some added glitz, glam and royalty thrown into the mix. Players are not going there to make it better or to play competitively, they're going because they're receiving offers which simply cannot be refused.
If Salah managed to leave, he's not going because he's desperate to leave Liverpool. He's going because he's secured absolute guaranteed generational wealth and access to a 30 bedroom mansion as well as a private jet
In one year? I don't think so
The only thing I see is that they have thrown a massive amount of money at it, and have so far clearly attracted only a certain type of player with it.
I don't understand why they had to go quite so stupid with the wages, as every player going there now is going to expect the same and more, which whilst the PIF might be happy to pay for a few years (ie up to a World Cup bid), then I don't see them doing it forever, and the moment it stops then it fails, even if they did fund it forever then they could never join the established clubs anyway because of FFP, which is surely what they want to happen to longer term.
I don't watch much PL football anymore, due to a combination of factors:
- Referees incorrectly deciding games nearly every week and using excuses like because they're mates with each other so its ok
- City who are a non entity in terms of evoking any passion or feeling, winning with ease every year
- Spending 90 minutes watching millionaires roll about pretending to be hurt, pretending to limp around, sitting on the floor until the game stops and everyone looks at them, etc. To the point I spend less time enjoying the game than I spend feeling like I'm being taken for a complete idiot.
- Sky over dramatising everything to the point it now all feels artificial.
- When someone obviously cheats but no one is allowed to call them a cheat because of how embarrassingly precious football and footballers are.
I pftrn find it an effort to watch these days but the Saudi league has nothing to do with it. If it sifts out all the players in the PL who are after a retirement contract maybe it will actually help a bit.
- Referees incorrectly deciding games nearly every week and using excuses like because they're mates with each other so its ok
- City who are a non entity in terms of evoking any passion or feeling, winning with ease every year
- Spending 90 minutes watching millionaires roll about pretending to be hurt, pretending to limp around, sitting on the floor until the game stops and everyone looks at them, etc. To the point I spend less time enjoying the game than I spend feeling like I'm being taken for a complete idiot.
- Sky over dramatising everything to the point it now all feels artificial.
- When someone obviously cheats but no one is allowed to call them a cheat because of how embarrassingly precious football and footballers are.
I pftrn find it an effort to watch these days but the Saudi league has nothing to do with it. If it sifts out all the players in the PL who are after a retirement contract maybe it will actually help a bit.
Got to admit these two things are a killer for the Premiership nowadays, both of which are self inflicted harm on the league, and both of which the league could sort out if they had the will to do so.
It's a sign of money and over the hill players mostly. Don't agree they have more stars than the PL, bigger names with Ronaldo and a few others but they're not what they were. And if its a problem for us then it's terrible for La Liga, Serie A etc, who were already miles behind. Don't think it'll get traction unless they get in the CL.
What UCL semi-finals are you watching?
At the moment it's an retirement league but with enough money that can easily change.
I wouldn’t say the Premier League has to worry necessarily, I’d say it’s the other top 5 European leagues. Serie A for example has sold so many stars this season and got few back into the league. There are only so many elite players to go around and the PL is so much richer than the other 4 leagues that they’ll continue to hoover up them while Saudi takes the rest.
Retirement league is thrown around, but just because a player is 30 doesn’t mean they’d be finished at the top level - the likes of Mané, Neymar, Fabinho, Mahrez, Laporte etc would all easily start for most of the teams in the CL.
The problem with this premise is that stars are made by the top leagues. As they remain the top leagues, another league cannot take all the stars away because by definition they will produce stars while the Saudi league has to take them. I feel like you're stuck on today's stars as if they haven't endlessly been replaced by younger players every year. Henry and RVN were replaced by Ronaldo, who will be replaced by Haaland and Mbappe. They will of course be replaced. It's a never ending cycle.
But sure, you can claim they have more stars if they take away players who already lived out their primes in Europe allowing them to build up a following. And if they take away younger players, that just means those younger players didn't build up enough of a following to take fans away, and they would therefore lose their "star" status that would otherwise be built by playing at the highest level.
This is a problem many fans of national teams, from countries that do not have a high level of competition, worry about when their star player moves back to their home league. Their standards eventually drop, making their national team weaker now that the player isn't competing in Europe. Just ask them.
But sure, you can claim they have more stars if they take away players who already lived out their primes in Europe allowing them to build up a following. And if they take away younger players, that just means those younger players didn't build up enough of a following to take fans away, and they would therefore lose their "star" status that would otherwise be built by playing at the highest level.
I'm sorry, but this is also a common misconception. A player's ability is maintained by training and competing against the best. Sure a player can go to a top 30-60 league and still have their ability, but they will lose that ability by the level of competition. Eventually that will happen. A player's first touch must be extra sharp at the highest level, and as things get slower and sloppier in a less skillful league, so would their standards drop because that is all that is required of the player to excel.
This is a problem many fans of national teams, from countries that do not have a high level of competition, worry about when their star player moves back to their home league. Their standards eventually drop, making their national team weaker now that the player isn't competing in Europe. Just ask them.
Last edited:
Did we need another Saudi league thread?
It's a league for people in Saudi Arabia and the type of unhinged people arguing about goats on Facebook. Like my feed is full of shit footbal meme pages going "United disrespected Ronaldo, Greenwood and De Gea and then lost 0-3 to Burnley" and comments were full of people saying they're done with United and will follow Ronaldo everywhere he goes etc. These people deserve a league to watch as well, I guess. Like a shit FUT league in real life.
Out of that small list I think it’s far to say that mane and Fabinho look on their last legs
At the latest from next season or the season after next, the inhibition threshold to switch to Saudi Arabia will fall. And the argument "retirement league" or "no sporting challenge" no longer counts.
An example of this is Veige. He did everything right, not only financially, but also in terms of sport.
You should only look at the squad + coaches with whom he will play in the future. The sporting challenge would also be higher than in Napoli, for example.
It's easier to become champions with Napoli than to win the title in Saudi Arabia with al-Ahli. Again, I recommend taking a look at the competition. Instead of playing UCL next season, he is going to a newly promoted Saudi. The days of top football in Europe seem to be numbered.
I believe the Saudis will also intend to naturalize talent like him from the start. That would also be a great advantage for them because of the restrictions on foreigners. Many could face the decision: naturalize and enjoy all the advantages that a Saudi has + the guaranteed regular place or end up like Jota, who now has to go again after 2 months.
Something like that could be very attractive, especially for Latinos and Africans. After all, who doesn't want a Buggatti as a gift after almost every international win?
An example of this is Veige. He did everything right, not only financially, but also in terms of sport.
You should only look at the squad + coaches with whom he will play in the future. The sporting challenge would also be higher than in Napoli, for example.
It's easier to become champions with Napoli than to win the title in Saudi Arabia with al-Ahli. Again, I recommend taking a look at the competition. Instead of playing UCL next season, he is going to a newly promoted Saudi. The days of top football in Europe seem to be numbered.
I believe the Saudis will also intend to naturalize talent like him from the start. That would also be a great advantage for them because of the restrictions on foreigners. Many could face the decision: naturalize and enjoy all the advantages that a Saudi has + the guaranteed regular place or end up like Jota, who now has to go again after 2 months.
Something like that could be very attractive, especially for Latinos and Africans. After all, who doesn't want a Buggatti as a gift after almost every international win?
Saudi Arabia are trying to radicially overall the entire way their country has operated since the discovery of their vast oil fields. As the world becomes less dependent on oil, Saudi needs to move away from that model. The implications of which is a different discussion thread.
Entertainment, Leisure and tourism is just one of the avenues being explored to generate income for the country.
Unlike China's flirtation with football, Saudi are here to stay (they have no other choices). They will start with aging stars, but as the league improves and its influence grows, they will become a real threat to the PL and other top european leagues.
These videos dont mention football at all, but help understand why Saudi are doing what they are doing i.e. the biggest cultural and social economical shift of 21st century.
Entertainment, Leisure and tourism is just one of the avenues being explored to generate income for the country.
Unlike China's flirtation with football, Saudi are here to stay (they have no other choices). They will start with aging stars, but as the league improves and its influence grows, they will become a real threat to the PL and other top european leagues.
These videos dont mention football at all, but help understand why Saudi are doing what they are doing i.e. the biggest cultural and social economical shift of 21st century.
Won’t hurt the top English side but the lower La Liga and Italian sides are in trouble once they go from names to actual squad building.
It would be take your pick at that stage due to how poor those clubs are
It would be take your pick at that stage due to how poor those clubs are
Fabinho would have started this season for Liverpool, they were happily going into the season with him and Mané would have got another club at a good level if Bayern didn’t want him.
Yep. This just about sums it up!
Did you watch either last season? They both look past their leak now, Fabinho was noticeably off the pace last season. I don’t doubt that they may have got another team, a fool and their money is easily parted
The Saudi league is going nowhere. A tenth rate league with a smattering of better known players isn't a compelling prospect.
Most of the players that have gone there are seeking one last payday. The ones still with years ahead will simply collect the money then return to a better standard of football with their pockets lined.
Most of the players that have gone there are seeking one last payday. The ones still with years ahead will simply collect the money then return to a better standard of football with their pockets lined.
It's money and greed over all else, and the Premier League itself was one of the earliest symptoms. What's happening now is nothing new, but now somebody else is doing it, so obviously it's morally very wrong.
This neither does.
They don't have more star players, You're bringing up 'names' rather than their current quality but also not comparing consistently.
You've bought up a few attackers for the Prem but then bought up players like Neves.. for the Saudi league...
How does Neves compare with Rodri,Casemiro,DeclanRice,Caicedo,Enzo Fernández.. probably another dozen better midfielders in the league also..
The teams are utter shite though. The football is also bad. It’s advertising. Not sporting competition.
Like that's gonna happen. They're in phase 1 and have a gigantic (!) budget to attract players the next decade. Of course phase 2 is to not just buy past-it players, but also the new Messi™. It's inevitable.
Exactly this.
The last stat I saw was the saudi league had spent something like 500 million whereas the premier league has spent almost 2 billion. Vast difference still.
And so what even if you were right OP? Do we have a god given right that our league has to have more 'stars'?
Are you the spokesperson for the Saudi League then? You seem to have appeared solely for this purpose
A lot of finger pointing going on here, yet we haven't looked closer to home.
The PL hasn't idly sat by, look how much players within the PL have moved for to another PL team, I mean Rice and Caicedo both £100m+ hardly PL teams sitting idly.
There will come a time the Saudis can't keep buying to make the league competitive and will rely on their homegrown players, this is where the investment should be if they want their model to be sustainable.
The PL hasn't idly sat by, look how much players within the PL have moved for to another PL team, I mean Rice and Caicedo both £100m+ hardly PL teams sitting idly.
There will come a time the Saudis can't keep buying to make the league competitive and will rely on their homegrown players, this is where the investment should be if they want their model to be sustainable.
If the OP is true, how many watch the Saudi league instead of the PL? And what's Saudi Arabia league got to do with City and the PL (or even UEFA currently)? A better parallel is Chinese league trying to raise its profile but COVID killed that. I don't think Saudi efforts would go much further either.
Super League should have been allowed to happen.
The ridiculous "lets blame City" premise aside, I'll only start worrying about the Saudi League when all the stars you are naming start going there at 21 instead of 31.
They may have all the money to pay the fees and wages for seasoned pros to join in, but they still lack the prestigious competitions and clubs to attract the average fan or the upcoming top footballing talents.
They may have all the money to pay the fees and wages for seasoned pros to join in, but they still lack the prestigious competitions and clubs to attract the average fan or the upcoming top footballing talents.
I think some people are either trolling or exggerating the situation. Or hyping it up because they're a creepy Ronaldo fanboy? idk..
It would take a generational change for this to be sustainable.
It's not going to end up 11 all stars vs 11 all stars as half the lineup has to be Arab? I think.
If they start building mega academies and pilfering all the best young players/Coaches/managers and the level of training/competition starts to really ramp up then maybe but we're talking 40-50 years.
Players are only going there because of money. Until Saudi can offer more than money, I don't think it's sustainable.
It would take a generational change for this to be sustainable.
It's not going to end up 11 all stars vs 11 all stars as half the lineup has to be Arab? I think.
If they start building mega academies and pilfering all the best young players/Coaches/managers and the level of training/competition starts to really ramp up then maybe but we're talking 40-50 years.
Players are only going there because of money. Until Saudi can offer more than money, I don't think it's sustainable.
The OP says they have more stars than the PL right now. Even if you consider 47 year old Benzema and Ronaldo stars City alone has more stars than their entire league.
Agreed. I just want to support proper football. Feck all the superstars and oil money
No, Saudi league isn't governed by FFP so City are irrelevant. Trying to blame them for everything is frankly pathetic and incredibly RAWK.