Midweek premier league matches are rubbish...
I did predict this was going to happen. We’re the new Spurs, seeing as they seem to be the new Everton
At least my darling wife will be quids in
Well look on the bright side, it provides a right good giggle for the rest of us.
That Antony miss was pure genius!
Amad bailed him out, disappointingly!
Well, that was a turnaround. Amad is turning into a bit of a tight spot specialist
On 500 grand a week
That Antony miss was pure genius!
It was right in front of us.... Unbelievable.
The scoreline was very flattering... United were shit!
As we so very often are
Our £85 million donkey being surely the most ludicrously laughable signing in football history? He couldn’t hit the ground if he fell out of a plane
85 million quid! 85 MILLION?!!!
It was an exceptional goal line clearence. Really difficult to keep your composure and execute that skill in that situation.
9.5 year new deal for Haaland, no escape clause, could be a bit of a risk for both if things turn sour, or injuries increase. Not seen the pay yet, doubt it will be less than 300 grand a week plus performance bonusses.
I wonder how much more he was able to get with the recent slump, from city's point of view it shows they are still committed for the long term so sends an important message to other potential recruits that they won't be losing interest when(if) pep leaves in a couple of years.
So Citeh are now playing the same game as Chelsea to get around the financial fair play rules? Like you said, it’s a high risk strategy
They aren't buying a 200 million player, the FFP rules don't really count like that in giving a player a new deal, it is just his wages on the annual budget rather than spreading the purchase price over a long contract (which is a loophole I thought they had closed anyway).
I also wonder if this means they have an good idea that the 115 charges is going their way.
9.5 year new deal for Haaland, no escape clause, could be a bit of a risk for both if things turn sour, or injuries increase. Not seen the pay yet, doubt it will be less than 300 grand a week plus performance bonusses.
Not sure if true but someone posted it was worth up to £850k a week with bonuses. Don't believe that myself.
They must be confident that nothing is going to come of the charges.
I think we do tend to have heavily incentivised contracts rather than higher baseline wages, so if he is scoring 35+ goals every season and city are getting to the late stages of every competition, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets over 500k a week.
Maybe 50+ goals and winning a treble could take it to 850k, that isn't a realistic average but is achievable some some years.
The money is beyond silly, everyone knows it, even us city fans know it and wish it was different really.
9.5 year contract seems mad when you consider the injury risk (I know he rarely has been injured) as he’s played a lot of top level football from a young age, compared to some of his peers. He’s also not hit his usual standards for a few months now, albeit in tandem with the overall team decline. I guess these oil dudes have deep pockets!
Are you suggesting he might ‘do a Rashford’? One stellar season where you’re banging then in for fun, sign long contract on £350 grand a week, kick back, feet up and concentrate on your social media
I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets over 500k a week.
I would have thought so. The highest paid players outside of Saudi seem to be on around 500k a week. Kevin De Bruyne has allegedly been on 385k since 2021. So 500k must be plausible for Haaland.
Madness.
Madness.
Agreed. I have no other words.
Sky reporting its 400k a week.
Four. Hundred. Grand. (to goal hang)
If you want the very definition of madness, Neymar is on £100 million a year in Saudi. Due to a hamstring injury, he’s only played 42 minutes of football this season with 2 appearances off the bench.
And Ronaldo about double that, though at least he's played a little bit of football for it. Obscene
The thing is with footballers though, we can see what they do for their money every week, and we can judge them for it. They are not bribing and influencing politics to twist the world even further in their favour, they are not crushing workers rights and squeezing every ounce of blood from society for their profit, they are not Musk and Bezos etc
A lot of the top players in the PL currently actually seem like decent people, Haaland, Salah, De Bruyne, Saka etc so while the money is absolute madness I find it hard to blame them for it, unlike the world of business and oligarchs where being an evil bastard seems to be encouraged, worshiped and rewarded. Footballer salaries are a bit of a distraction to the real problems.
Still way way too much though.
The Athletic are reporting Re: Man City punishment: "with a verdict expected to be reached in March, but City have always been confident and some with knowledge of the situation, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, think that the sanction City face will not be more serious than a fine."
I think that if Man City suffered a massive points deduction, it would open a pandoras box of Clubs claiming losses for missed CL etc. That's why they won't do it IMO.
Regarding footballer's wages, it's a complete meritocracy. Nearly ever single male has played football at some point in their lives and only a tiny percentage make some kind of living from it and even less make the huge money.
Just a thought regarding footballers wages - a footballer is an asset to a club, the top ones are paid insanely well. However if I was an asset to my employer that mean they sold merch on my name on & sponsorship deals for my employer to come rolling in then I would very much want a significant piece of that pie.
Regarding footballer’s wages, it’s a complete meritocracy
Absolutely! It’s one of the few fields in the world where the people doing all the work are appropriately paid for it, getting the lions share of the money
A lot of them are from pretty shitty backgrounds, hardly awash with opportunities. Love him or hate him, if you watch the Ronnie documentary, he was bought up in grinding poverty and saw football as his only way out. It was this that motivated to have the career he did. Fair play to him getting paid a squillion quid a week in Saudi
Harland's top level career will be coming to an end in 9.5 years. Even if you divide it by three to reflect 10 years Vs 30 years working life, it's still eye watering, but maybe not quite as much compared to top performers in other industries.
Absolutely! It’s one of the few fields in the world where the people doing all the work are appropriately paid for it, getting the lions share of the money
I've never begrudged the money pro footballers are paid. It's a short, brutal and ruthless career which can be over in a second. What I do think they should do though is put the majority of the money into a trust which is only available to a player following retirement. They can still live a millionaire lifestyle on 20k a week, and then when they retire they'll have 10s of millions to fund the rest of their lives and hopefully a bit more maturity and wisdom to spend it wisely rather than blowing it all on Ferraris and gambling.
Unfortunately I think Newcastle will lose today.
They were poor against Wolves and a half decent team would of punished them.
2-3 today.
'The thing is with footballers though, we can see what they do for their money every week, and we can judge them for it. They are not bribing and influencing politics to twist the world even further in their favour, they are not crushing workers rights and squeezing every ounce of blood from society for their profit, they are not Musk and Bezos etc'
If you're playing in Saudi Arabia you are taking money to help make the above acceptable, or at least easier to look past. Simple as
Why are people surprised that men at the very peak of their profession, that is probably the job more people apply for than any other worldwide, are paid a huge amount?
It's gross but in a world where people worship absolute cheb ends like Musk and Zuck I find it hard to get too overexcited. At least Haaland isn't a little scaredy pants of Trump!
@gobuchul - serious lack of pace in the heart of your defence today. It's like watching two sequoia trees
They are absolutely awful.
Can't string 2 passes together.
Seems like it’s hatricks or nothing this week
When talking about what the players get paid, don’t forget the managers. I don’t know how much Maureen earned for actually doing his job, but here’s the tot-up of his pay offs for getting sacked. Nice work if you can get sacked from it!
Chelsea (1st time) - £18m
Real Madrid - £17m
Chelsea (2nd time) - £8.3m
Manchester United - £19.6m
Tottenham - £15m
Roma - £3m
Total: £80.9m.
Surely it’s the scousers title now? And if so, has their best player been Kai Havertz?
Agreed. Today the sporting gods voted, and Liverpool were chosen.
Is this the end for Big Ange?
Spurs were getting tipped for the title in November 2023.
I bloody hope so, he's been out of his depth for far too long. To be fair though whoever is responsible for recruitment at Spurs should be shot. How do the likes of Brighton and Bournemouth get it so right yet Spurs have no clue? Big changes needed and soon please.
Poor Spurs. Apparently their pet mouse, also called Ange, lives in the fluff and dust inside the Tottenham trophy cabinet. I say trophy cabinet, but it’s more like a cardboard box.
In his defence they’ve had horrendous injuries this season - Liverpool would be pretty different with Van Dijk and Konate and Arsenal with Saliba and Gabriel out for a sustained period. Saying that no one should ship three in a half v Everton!
But he keeps playing the same style of football which is absolutely suicidal given the players he's got. Hence being 3 down against Everton in 45 minutes. Thats more than they've scored so far this season, isn't it?
Meanwhile we're completing our now traditional 2nd home defeat to sides from the South Coast that begin with B.
We're going to be battling hard with Spurs for that 14th spot
