A few weeks ago I suggested European football should be more than slightly concerned about the Saudi Premier League.
At that point, the flow of players in the direction of the Middle East was little more than a trickle. But it has gradually grown stronger over the last few weeks as stars find themselves irresistibly drawn to the mountains of cash on offer, like moths to an ethically questionable light bulb.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, Jordan Henderson, N’Golo Kanté, Rúben Neves, Malcolm, Riyad Mahrez, Fabinho, Allan Saint-Maximin, Roberto Firmino, Jota, Édouard Mendy – the list goes on and on. And, by the SPL’s own admission, there are no plans to let up.
It is becoming increasingly evident that this exodus is going to have a profound effect on the game in England, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the rest of the European leagues as well. Maybe not in terms of a complete talent drain, but definitely when it comes to pushing up wages, as European teams battle to keep their players from being seduced by the oil bling.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said last week that the SPL is changing the entire dynamics of the sport, and he isn’t wrong. That, however, will probably take a few years to take full effect. But there is a much more immediate problem facing European teams, as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp rightly pointed out last week – the Saudi transfer window closes almost three weeks after the European one. That’s a whole chunk of time during which the SPL clubs can continue to tempt and persuade top-level players from Europe to join their Riyal revolution when the reluctant selling club will have no opportunity to find a replacement.
Hypothetically speaking, an SPL club could waltz into Old Trafford or the Etihad on September 2 and make a key player a life-changing offer he can’t refuse.
While the English team might not want or need to sell, if the player’s head has been turned and the Saudi club can find a quarter of a billion down the back of the sofa, the deal will happen. And we all know there are essentially no limits to the depths of Saudi sofas.
Yes, the sellers would have a massive mountain of cash sitting in the corner of the room. But they would also have a gaping hole in their squad and no way of filling it until January 1 at the very earliest.
Sound far-fetched? Maybe. But, if anyone had told you a year ago that, in 2023, dozens of the world’s top players would abandon Europe for Saudi Arabia you would have called them totally loopy.
Either UEFA or FIFA needs to see what can be done to close this transfer loophole. Urgently
This is essentially a whole new reality we are dealing with where, if you have an almost limitless pot of money, it is not hard to get it to talk. The money, not the pot. Although they can probably afford one of those too.
With the world record bid for Kylian Mbappé, the Saudi teams have shown they have no limits or boundaries when it comes to tempting players. And I don’t think they have any intention of calling a halt to it out of the goodness of their hearts just because the European window will be closed.
Either UEFA or FIFA needs to see what can be done to close this transfer loophole. Urgently. There isn’t much those organisations can do about the bigger picture – the relentless juggernaut of a talent drain and the resulting wage inflation – but the very least they need to do is ensure there is a transfer truce is in place from September 1.
Fun times for Gżira
It’s an entertaining time to be a Gżira United fan.
A couple of weeks ago, goalkeeper David Cassar went viral after his impressive penalty save against Glentoran in the Europa Conference turned out not to be save at all. As Cassar ran out of the goalmouth to celebrate his moment of glory, the ball decided it had other plans and spun backwards and over the line, leaving the hapless goalie wanting the ground to swallow him up.
But the 36-year-old made up for his tiny lapse shortly after by saving another one which did, this time, take his team through to the next round with a 14-13 win. And that, by the way, was the longest shoot-out in UEFA history.
Then it was on to the next qualifying round with Gżira beating Luxembourg side Dudelange 2-0 in the first leg, thanks partly to Zach Scerri scoring a volley of sublime beauty – the sort of strike you can leave on repeat in the background and not get tired of watching. Last Wednesday, United lost 2-1 away to their more fancied opponents, but still went through 3-2 on aggregate.
What will the third qualifying round bring? Who knows! But at this rate you would imagine there is something memorable round the corner.
Gianni, the king of empty words
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that FIFA president Gianni Infantino is not the sort of guy who practises what he preaches.
Infantino seems to have a very irritating flaw: he is better at dishing out the sound bites than actioning them. The latest example of this involves the women’s World Cup.
Last year in Qatar, Infantino was part of the furniture, settling into his posh seat in the stands at every possible opportunity, even jumping between stadia to catch bits of those games that kicked off at the same time.
Since that World Cup ended, he has been insisting that women’s football should be treated with the same level of respect as men’s and telling everyone how its importance would become obvious at this tournament in New Zealand and Australia. Admirable sentiments. Yet he has emphatically failed to put his money where his mouth is.
He was there for the opening and took in some of the initial games from his traditional throne of importance in the stands. But then, as things started to hot up on the pitch, Infantino hopped on his private jet and vanished to Tahiti. He spent nearly a week there, missing many matches, before flying to Australia which was, pathetically, his first visit to the country since it was awarded the World Cup.
Contrast that with how he practically lived in Qatar prior to last year’s tournament and didn’t dream of leaving that World Cup while the contest was running.
Infantino is no doubt a step up from his predecessor Sepp Blatter (although you could argue that flesh-eating bacteria would have been). But the Italian needs to realise that being the man in charge of the world’s most popular sport is about what you do, not say. Saying the right thing is entirely useless if your actions are contradictory.
And walking (flying) away from the most important tournament in the history of women’s football shows his previous statements were nothing more than him paying lip service, probably with the aim of generating sponsorship.
As things stand, women’s football is not equal to men’s, on any level. That’s an indisputable fact. But it never will be if the person running the sport says it is but then acts like he doesn’t believe it.
E-mail: James@quizando.com
Twitter: @maltablade