Ok, don’t hate me. I am happy with aging players going anywhere they want, get some fat cheque and enjoy their retirement… but with news of sancho going Saudi, I was wondering how would a player take it ? Shouldn’t they be insulted particularly when some of their clubs have lower attendance than third tier English league clubs.
For all the money they spend on all these marquee signings, I don’t understand why they don’t just pay like 500,000 young Saudi boys to do nothing except play organized league football from ages 5 to 18. Not all of them will turn out well but with those sort of numbers, some inevitably will.
Within a generation they could financially brute force their way into having a genuinely competitive league and their own home-grown stars who’ll actually be proud to pull on their clubs shirts, do well and try get selected for Saudi instead of having your Ronaldos and Sanchos pretend through gritted smiles how stoked and proud they are to play in this bush league against players who couldn’t even get onto an English league 2 side.
why would he be insulated with what the saudi clubs are willing to pay him?
Not at all in my opinion. Professional football careers are short. Players must sometimes choose between chasing glory and their financial goals.
If someone is paying too dollar to play top football of course that’s the best. But that’s not often the case. I don’t at all blame players for prioritizing financial goals. Besides, going to Saudi can be a temporary stop to resurrect one’s career.
Tbf most footballers aren’t super rich. They also have to look after extended family and friends. Sometimes entire villages/towns. After everything, there often isn’t a ton of cash left over.
They only have ~10 years at the top level. After they retire or big contract runs out, theres not enough job opportunities for ex footballers to make big money. Might as well make as much money while they can.
No , if a club are willing to pay a big fee for me , then that means they think highly of me.
Sancho potentially going to Saudi at his age tells you everything you need to know about him. Could easily drop his salary & represent a massive club in an established league. Would rather earn a massive pay-check playing in front of a Sunday League attendance.
Think it’s probably due to the fact players like Sancho are on massive money for their age and no teams in the top 5 leagues want to take that risk, while Saudi league can pay their wages and also they’ll still be good players in comparison to the rest of the players in the league. - IMO
I mean big clubs in the PL or other nations Either cannot afford him or they don’t want to take the risk.
So if you cannot get given the chance to maybe build a legendary career somewhere? Why wouldn’t you take money that can set your family up for generations.