Saudi sports minister gives update on buying club from Glazers

[PyroMan]

"What if they buy Liverpool, Arsenal or someone else and they WIN TROPHIES"

Who fecking cares then? It's just football. Bunch of 20-30 yr olds kicking around a ball for entertainment and getting paid millions. You just watch them in the stadium or on TV. Their winning or losing contributes ZILCH to your personal and professional development.

But yeah, the tribal mentality of "our" team winning trophies vs. someone else is the most satisfactory thing. More important than denial of basic rights of people, murders being committed due to plain disagreements, bombing of civilians including children among loads of other things.

Get fecked if that's your train of thought.

 

[Florida Man]

There is a bit of a difference. You may live in Florida but here in Manchester, if the Saudi’s become club owners then a lot of people from around here who are employed buy the club will essentially become employees of Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Fair point. But I could look at it this way: That’s more money spent in Manchester’s working class and less spent on bombing Yemen. If I had my way though, it would be 50/50 collective and private ownership or some variation of that.

 

[alexthelion]

I live in a country where the monarchy killed the queen of hearts. Invaded Iraq and killed innocent millions of people in the name of weapons being there...which wasn't true. Oh well, what a world a life we live in.

Queen of Hearts? Countless millions? You just exagerating to try and make a point.

 

[Spoony]

Fair point. But I could look at it this way: That’s more money spent in Manchester’s working class and less spent on bombing Yemen. If I had my way though, it would be 50/50 collective and private ownership or some variation of that.

They'd probably pump money into Manchester like Abu Dhabi have done in East Manchester.

 

[Johan07]

I wouldn't be surprised if they go for a club like Tottenham.

That would be the sportswashing of the century considering Spurs background. Yids and all that crap. I wonder how their fanbase would take that. Being owned by the Saudis....
Would certainly be interesting.
Dont think it will ever happen.

 

[mu4c_20le]

feck your oil money. We do things the United way.

 

[Ramshock]

Yeah and what about those Spanish feckers as well, nearly wiping out the entire Mayan civilisation, you won’t catch me going to Spain for me hols because of it and don’t even get me started on the bloody vikings, going berserk in York and wot not, I’ll never forgive ‘em, the fact that Ole is in charge of my football club makes my blood boil grrrrrr!

Dont talk shite mate. NI, Israel, Middle East..stuff all going on STILL because of the fecking british empire.

 

[red thru&thru]

I wouldn't be surprised if they go for a club like Tottenham.

Possibly. But they would face the same problems the Qataris and the Abu Dhabi guys have, their clubs miss that "x factor". There are only really us, Lfc, Real, Barca, Bayern and Juve can offer that. No other clubs in world football can compete with the aforementioned.

 

[red thru&thru]

Queen of Hearts? Countless millions? You just exagerating to try and make a point.

Which bit was the exaggeration?

 

[JPRouve]

Possibly. But they would face the same problems the Qataris and the Abu Dhabi guys have, their clubs miss that "x factor". There are only really us, Lfc, Real, Barca, Bayern and Juve can offer that. No other clubs in world football can compete with the aforementioned.

Not really, the part that you are missing is that they don't really want that X factor because it's overshadow them, they want to be the X factor and tell everyone about it. And just an example, PSG used to be a high profile club in the 80s-90s but at the very beginning of the Qatar era, they tried to erase that by pretending that it was the beginning of the club which later led to the ludicrous comment made about having an Ibrahimovic stand.

 

[red thru&thru]

Not really, the part that you are missing is that they don't really want that X factor because it's overshadow them, they want to be the X factor and tell everyone about it. And just an example, PSG used to be a high profile club in the 80s-90s but at the very beginning of the Qatar era, they tried to erase that by pretending that it was the beginning of the club which later led to the ludicrous comment made about having an Ibrahimovic stand.

PSG have never been as big as the clubs mentioned.

And what do the Saudis truly want? Well they'd no doubt want to overshadow the teams that are owned by their neighbour's. Also, there will be no bigger clout than being the reigeme that brought United back up from the ashes!

 

[marktan]

I'm as annoyed at our current state as anyone, but I'm sorry, there's a line selling to an autocratic state known for various bad acts who are known under the new king looking to whitewash their image via sport.

I'm all for the Saudi state opening up their borders for more tourism, letting women drive etc, but things like the Kashoggi killing and their actions in Yemen are unacceptable. Maybe in 5-10 years time if they clean their act up, but right now, I'd rather as a club be relegated than be owned by them.

 

[JPRouve]

PSG have never been as big as the clubs mentioned.

And what do the Saudis truly want? Well they'd no doubt want to overshadow the teams that are owned by their neighbour's. Also, there will be no bigger clout than being the reigeme that brought United back up from the ashes!

It's not a comparison with other clubs but a simple statement that they do'nt care about that X factor, if they cared about it they would have bought one of the big english clubs, they have the money for it but didn't care and didn't thought that it was worth it. In the case of Qatar, they actually studied the idea of purchasing United but ruled against it.
And I feel that you are mixing your wishes with theirs, in the sense that their goals are very self centered. It's about their home country, it's about putting all the spot lights on Riyad, Doha or Dubai with the likes of Paris or Manchester staying quietly in the dark. The issue with the clubs that you mentioned is that they are a competition from an image standpoint. Bear in mind that we are talking about state ownership and not about a wealthy individual that would like to play around with a football club.
And it's confirmed by the words of the sports minister, the idea is the same than QSI and I wouldn't be surprised if their actual goal is to take the sports industry business away from Qatar and Abu Dhabi which means that they can't afford to share the spot lights and I wouldn't be surprised to see them go after clubs like Roma, Valencia or Tottenham because these clubs give them the benefit of claiming that they dethroned giants through sheer Saudi genius.

Of course I could be wrong but at this moment I see a lot of "QTA" in these talks.

 

[Coops73]

Dont talk shite mate. NI, Israel, Middle East..stuff all going on STILL because of the fecking british empire.

You’re a septic if you can’t see that reply is highly loaded with sarcasm.

my point being, if you looked back through history there is probably not a nation/race etc that hasn’t in some way bastardised, raped and fecked over someone else...except maybe the Tibetans, they seem bloody nice people( I’m now waiting for someone to tell me they Arse fecked the mongols in1020 or some such shite)

 

[FutbolFan]

This whole levels of evil thing is just plain weird to me reading the posts above. Both sets of people arent good people, its as simple as that. Frankly i cant think of many billionaires that are saints bar Bill and Melinda Gates (Kudos to them)

Can you see the Billionaire episode of Hasan Minaj on Netflix. Bill and Melinda Gate foundation have done a lot of work but they are no saints.

 

[Josep Dowling]

feck your oil money. We do things the United way.

Anyone would think we haven’t spent a penny in the transfer window in recent years.

 

[lewwoo]

seriously, you want your club taken over by murdering dictators?

I would rather not but if it means winning trophies again I am not overly bothered.

 

[UDontMessWith24]

"What if they buy Liverpool, Arsenal or someone else and they WIN TROPHIES"

Who fecking cares then? It's just football. Bunch of 20-30 yr olds kicking around a ball for entertainment and getting paid millions. You just watch them in the stadium or on TV. Their winning or losing contributes ZILCH to your personal and professional development.

But yeah, the tribal mentality of "our" team winning trophies vs. someone else is the most satisfactory thing. More important than denial of basic rights of people, murders being committed due to plain disagreements, bombing of civilians including children among loads of other things.

Get fecked if that's your train of thought.

You'll have to narrow it down there and tell us which nation you're talking about as you're being a little vague. Saudi Arabia? U.S.A? England? Russia?

 

[Harry190]

That has nothing to do with it.

It has everything to do with it. It's part of the big plan. It buys them a lot of goodwill and enhances their image.

 

[PyroMan]

I would rather not but if it means winning trophies again I am not overly bothered.

Then you're a massive cnut.

 

[Yakuza_devils]

We have had enough moral views from both for and against the Saudi takeover. As always, its 50-50 things.

Can we actually discuss about football side of things, changes to the club and financial power?

We could really be the super power of football by far if the Saudi took over and invest heavily with proper football structure in place in the club.

At the very least, we are in dire need to revamp our football structure in the club starting from appointment of proper CEO/DOF and then everything else.

 

[Yakuza_devils]

Then you're a massive cnut.

What happened to accepting different opinions?

 

[Silver]

We have had enough moral views from both for and against the Saudi takeover. As always, its 50-50 things.

Can we actually discuss about football side of things, changes to the club and financial power?

We could really be the super power of football by far if the Saudi took over and invest heavily with proper football structure in place in the club.

At the very least, we are in dire need to revamp our football structure in the club starting from appointment of proper CEO/DOF and then everything else.

Can the football really be separated from the moral side in this case? If buying tickets, merchandise etc contribute to the empowering of human rights abuse would that really be ok because of a game? Are people really willing to turn a blind eye to that aspect?

 

[TrustInOle]

Bit harsh on the Manchester Business School.

Can the football really be separated from the moral side in this case? If buying tickets, merchandise etc contribute to the empowering of human rights abuse would that really be ok because of a game? Are people really willing to turn a blind eye to that aspect?

In now way will United be seen in financial terms by these, will be more a public image move than anything financial that you would be contributing towards.

 

[Denis' cuff]

Then you're a massive cnut.

Is this stuff tolerated on here these days?

Who the feck is this, anyway?

Guy just gave his view.

 

[Yakuza_devils]

Actually, Man Utd doesn't need sugar daddy ownership. What we need is something like Liverpool structure where they have proper football people at the helm and revamp their transfer system. The most critical thing is they appoint the right manager.

At the very least, we need something like Man City structure (this is just like any other big club structure in the world). They too have football people at the helm, have succession plan for the manager, great transfer system and most importantly they invest heavily in the squad and infrastructure.

Of the above 2, we are more suited to Liverpool structure (with more financial power) but Man City structure is more sustainable in long term. If Klopp leave Liverpool they could be in trouble again.

The reason I'm in favor of changing the ownership of the club is because I don't see Glazer/Ed capable of implementing any of the 2 system above.

 

[Yakuza_devils]

Can the football really be separated from the moral side in this case? If buying tickets, merchandise etc contribute to the empowering of human rights abuse would that really be ok because of a game? Are people really willing to turn a blind eye to that aspect?

Again, I get your moral stand and whatnot. This is an endless discussion. As already replied by many here, there are lots of things to boycott if we really go into details what the Americans, Saudi, Chinese, Russian and etc did/do or did/do not do......

I rather stick to football side of things. I see we are in dire need to change ownership, Saudi or not.

 

[Silver]

In now way will United be seen in financial terms by these, will be more a public image move than anything financial that you would be contributing towards.

Oh and where do you think the profits would be going? And even if it is just public image, that's ok? You would be ok falsely bolstering the public image of a regime that's responsible for extreme human rights abuses? The club would basically become a shield to cover up a multitude of morally reprehensible views and actions just as long as they're pumping in money?

 

[Adnan]

PSG have never been as big as the clubs mentioned.

And what do the Saudis truly want? Well they'd no doubt want to overshadow the teams that are owned by their neighbour's. Also, there will be no bigger clout than being the reigeme that brought United back up from the ashes!

I've spoke to quite a few Arab and Saudi nationals regarding this very topic in the UK. And they're of the firm belief that the Saudi's will only buy a super club if they had the opportunity and wouldn't want want to buy a club like Spurs because they quite simply don't have the prestige. Saudi's want to go in and compete straight away without being shackled by FFP and owning a club that is steeped in prestige is what they want according to the lads I spoke to. They finished of by saying that if they bought a club it would only be United or they wouldn't bother at all.

I also wonder if our players would resign and quit the club if the Saudi's took over? I only ask because some of the posters here have resorted to hurling abuse at people who have a different outlook on a potential Saudi takeover on moral grounds. So I fully expect the same people to be repulsed by our players and management on the grounds of morality if they were to carry on playing under such a regime.

Football for me isn't that important in the grand scheme of things and I followed United due to being born in a certain geographical location which made the club a local team for me and my family way before that. Football is just a hobby/interest that I look forward to after a long hard week at work and it's not life or death. The Saudi's are a murdering regime but so are our Governments who have murdered people in the millions in recent times which to me is even more repulsive. We also played a big role in creating the house of Saud and are currently benefitting financially from the regime by selling them weapons and that to me is repulsive.

It's a game of football at the end of the day and I sure will carry on supporting the boys along with Sir Alex and the rest of our legends inspite of a Saudi takeover. The players and Ole will also carry on as normal and will happily pick up pay cheques from the Saudis.

 

[Silver]

I've spoke to quite a few Arab and Saudi nationals regarding this very topic in the UK. And they're of the firm belief that the Saudi's will only buy a super club if they had the opportunity and wouldn't want want to buy a club like Spurs because they quite simply don't have the prestige. Saudi's want to go in and compete straight away without being shackled by FFP and owning a club that is steeped in prestige is what they want according to the lads I spoke to. They finished of by saying that if they bought a club it would only be United or they wouldn't bother at all.

I also wonder if our players would resign and quit the club if the Saudi's took over? I only ask because some of the posters here have resorted to hurling abuse at people who have a different outlook on a potential Saudi takeover on moral grounds. So I fully expect the same people to be repulsed by our players and management on the grounds of morality if they were to carry on playing under such a regime.

Football for me isn't that important in the grand scheme of things and I followed United due to being born in a certain geographical location which made the club a local team for me and my family way before that. Football is just a hobby/interest that I look forward to after a long hard week at work and it's not life or death. The Saudi's are a murdering regime but so are our Governments who have murdered people in the millions in recent times which to me is even more repulsive. We also played a big role in creating the house of Saud and are currently benefitting financially from the regime by selling them weapons and that to me is repulsive.

It's a game of football at the end of the day and I sure will carry on supporting the boys along with Sir Alex and the rest of our legends inspite of a Saudi takeover. The players and Ole will also carry on as normal and will happily pick up pay cheques from the Saudis.

Yes our governments and other governments are just as bad as the Saudis but they don't own the club or aren't looking to buy the club to boost their image like the Saudi Royals are, so that's a false comparison to make here.

At the end of the day it may be just a game of football but there is a comfort in knowing that we are supporting a team and enjoying a game without the burden of knowing that it is all controlled directly by people who behead people, stone women, bomb countries. The players and managers can pick up checks but that will always be in the back of the head - the club will be tainted. The current ownership already is already problematic but this would take it a step further.

And for a club like Manchester United, with its history and romance, which is why a lot of people support it, it'll be a damn shame to taint that.

 

[nainaisson]

feck your oil money. We do things the United way.

Being owned and exploited by rich a-hole Americans is "the United way"? Okay, count me out, then.

 

[Adnan]

Yes our governments and other governments are just as bad as the Saudis but they don't own the club or aren't looking to buy the club to boost their image like the Saudi Royals are, so that's a false comparison to make here.

At the end of the day it may be just a game of football but there is a comfort in knowing that we are supporting a team and enjoying a game without the burden of knowing that it is all controlled directly by people who behead people, stone women, bomb countries. The players and managers can pick up checks but that will always be in the back of the head - the club will be tainted. The current ownership already is already problematic but this would take it a step further.

And for a club like Manchester United, with its history and romance, which is why a lot of people support it, it'll be a damn shame to taint that.

Saudi money is flowing through the club. The club has been tainted for years.

 

[Silver]

Saudi money is flowing through the club. The club has been tainted for years.

Does the government control the club?

 

[Adnan]

Does the government control the club?

They own 70% of Saudi Telecom who sponsor us.

 

[Silver]

They own 70% of Saudi Telecom who sponsor us.

But do they control or even own the club? It's really not the same thing is it.

 

[Adnan]

But do they control or even own the club?

Who is 'they' and what relevance does your post have to what I said?

 

[Silver]

Who is 'they' and what relevance does your post have to what I said?

'they' as in the Saudi govt. I mean you're the one who replied to my comment about Saudi govt ownership of the club.

 

[Adnan]

'they' as in the Saudi govt. I mean you're the one who replied to my comment about Saudi govt ownership of the club.

They obviously don't own our club.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

The tennis, WWE and of course the boxing last night recently gone to Saudi Arabia.

The 'outrage' in the media non existent. Why are football fans getting knickers in a twist? Nobody else seems to care.

Get off your high horses people. Let's get rid of the parasites and get some proper investment into this magnificent club. I want more PL titles and CL trophies.

 

[red thru&thru]

I've spoke to quite a few Arab and Saudi nationals regarding this very topic in the UK. And they're of the firm belief that the Saudi's will only buy a super club if they had the opportunity and wouldn't want want to buy a club like Spurs because they quite simply don't have the prestige. Saudi's want to go in and compete straight away without being shackled by FFP and owning a club that is steeped in prestige is what they want according to the lads I spoke to. They finished of by saying that if they bought a club it would only be United or they wouldn't bother at all.

I also wonder if our players would resign and quit the club if the Saudi's took over? I only ask because some of the posters here have resorted to hurling abuse at people who have a different outlook on a potential Saudi takeover on moral grounds. So I fully expect the same people to be repulsed by our players and management on the grounds of morality if they were to carry on playing under such a regime.

Football for me isn't that important in the grand scheme of things and I followed United due to being born in a certain geographical location which made the club a local team for me and my family way before that. Football is just a hobby/interest that I look forward to after a long hard week at work and it's not life or death. The Saudi's are a murdering regime but so are our Governments who have murdered people in the millions in recent times which to me is even more repulsive. We also played a big role in creating the house of Saud and are currently benefitting financially from the regime by selling them weapons and that to me is repulsive.

It's a game of football at the end of the day and I sure will carry on supporting the boys along with Sir Alex and the rest of our legends inspite of a Saudi takeover. The players and Ole will also carry on as normal and will happily pick up pay cheques from the Saudis.

Yea, I'm of the same opinion as you.

Do I want the Saudis? No. Do I want the Chinese? No. Do I want anyone from the US? No. I'd like to be a PLC again, before the Glazers took over us. That isn't going to happen. Next best thing, bring people into the club who are consistently failing. The board have failed us over and over again and there need to be changes. Does not seem to be happening. So for me, this is why I want change.