DISQUS

kkfla737 · 1 year ago

This is terrible.

A complete over turning of the legacy of English football.

I'm sick over it.

kkfla737 · 1 year ago

As I was saying before being cut off, at a certain point foreign ownership of historically British clubs has to be stopped especially by people this unseemly.

Thaskin was a football man, and someone who made his money on the up and up. My knoweldge of Thai politics is limited but the Ecomomist articles and others have actually made me feel bad for him and many Thai people I have met like him.

Now the club is passing from a football man to an investment group looking to prostitute the club for financial gain. Soon football will pass from the passionate to the unwatchable realm of american professional sports where most owners are not concerned about a winning product but in lining their pockets.

That's why I stick to college sports in the US and the only professional sport I follow is international football.

john · 1 year ago

you are an idiot!they will never make financial gain from man city in our life time do the math you moron

Tejori · 1 year ago

In my point of view, the club will gain allot from this deal. Abudhabi Investment Group will solve all the club financial problems and help the club to be one of the best within short time.

The group is one of the most powerfull investment group in the world , it is well established and has strong support from the royal family in Abudhabi.

eplnfl · 1 year ago

I will take the unpopular view and say it's wonderful news. The only way to break up the hold of 2+2+16 is for some outside group with a lot of cash to elevate some team by an influx of cash. It's the only way that the other 16 can break into the top. Some of you may have heard Steve Bruce's comments over the weekend but there is no EPL, there are 3 different leagues in the so called EPL and the only way to change it is outside cash. Fact of life. The EPL wants to be the top soccer/football league in the world and sell it's product in every country. Foreign money is a fact. I only hope Everton is next!

eplnfl · 1 year ago

as a manchester city fan although im glad we will suceed i cant help but feel the character of the club and younger players is shot id rather challenge uefa and be english. just look at chelsea or manchester united or liverpool its all going down hill

Alan Bucchioni · 1 year ago

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United for life · 1 year ago

seriously!! Is winning everything considred goingdown hill? Manchester City fans should than all the gods they could possibly thank for this, now at least the wont be called the bitters because maybe they will actually win something.

Sanjay · 1 year ago

Just want to say that I'm loving all the attention my country of United Arab Emirates is getting!

Zenas · 1 year ago

Al Fahim is not the owner of the club because he bought the ManCity using the companies money, if he had bought the club using his own money then it would be his. Roman Abramovich on the other hand bought Chelsea using his own money, not with the money of the company he owns.

Zenas · 1 year ago

Also Chelsea are by no means a club going downhill as Abramovich makes billions a year which he uses on Chelsea, infact he was even willing to pay $200m to buy Messi and bolster Chelsea's squad. Chelsea already have a base of good veteran and youth players, and dont neccesarily have to spend that kind of money on buying players.

JLay · 1 year ago

The guy issued a statement saying that he wanted to buy just about every named player you can think of, and went to far as to suggest that he'd bid $135m GBP for CR7 - that doesn't sound like a group that's in it for the money, and these guy are already worth more than a TRILLION USD collectively.

I think that they're concerned about winning at any cost - these guys are going to spend money, and lots of it. Whether they'll do it wisely is another question altogether...

If the motivation isn't purely a love of the game, it probably also has a lot to do with prestige and the sibling rivalry between UAE's two wealthiest cities (Abu Dhabi and Dubai). They are in a "sports arms race" right now, with both of them doing everything that they can to attract top-tier sports teams and events to their own city.

Dubai has the cool indoor skiing joint, the first Tiger Woods-designed golf course, and a few other things - Abu Dhabi has an F1 race andf now a Premiership team. Id wager that Dubai ends up buying Newcastle, Arsenal, or Liverpool before too long.

Worst case scenario, they'll be doing some off-season friendlies in UAE. There are far worse things to be than a trillionaire's hobby - and given the alternative I'd think that the City fans are pretty happy right now.

Wealthy benefactors aren't always a bad thing, and they might restore some degree of parity to the league. Even as a United fan, I'd be happy to see the Big Four turn into the Big 6 or even the Big 8 over the next decade.

goke · 1 year ago

i will also go with the unpopular view because its going to bring more competition and equality that existed since the english league started to the ninties. were every team was oppurtuned to win.
what made the big four was finance basiclly.so any club could join them if they could match them financially.

khoja · 1 year ago

The arabs arrived in the UK 30 years ago and transformed the horse racing industry for the good. So why can't they do the same for football?

Chris Allen · 1 year ago

I believe that money doesn't have as much influence in football as most people think. Just because you can gather the best players in the world and play them together dos not mean they will have chemistry. Basically, this team will become a major ego-battling ground. I think the Man City owners are taking the wrong approach to creating a team worthy of the Premeirship title.

nguyen · 1 year ago

This is terrible! I think Mcity will become big club.

mufc fan jamaica1 · 1 year ago

absolute rubbish.

this kinda thing makes u wonder what football is coming to these days.
the answer = business and money.

half of these people come in knowing nothing about the passion involved in the game of football...or even the rules!

it makes me sick when things like this happen as it takes away from what english football is about.

just look at how they signed robinho...he was so intent on playing for chelsea then...MONEY came in...in one day...and trust me he's not goin to mcfc for any other reason.

then they're talking about buying torres, messi, ronaldinho, and even cristiano ronaldo...from their rival club!!!

they know NOTHING about our football.

but trust me...most of those deals...will NEVER happen no matter how much money they can throw at them.
robinho made a huge mistake. because i think this will do nothing but merely improve their league position 1 or 2 spaces.

ah...but it looks like money is taking over our beautiful game.

and its a sad day.

Manchester v. Manchester · 1 year ago

Robinho was intent more on leaving Real Madrid than on playing for Chelsea. He obviously did not like being used as a bait to recruit C. Ronaldo. Hope Robinho scores a few goals in the Manchester derby.

rahul · 1 year ago

i agree wit mufc wt a shit . the beautiful game the passion involved all goin down teh drains. theses ppl who buy teh clubs dont even a know a shit bout teh game. a club in usa when it was being taken over by a company teh owners didnt even wt a red card does to a player in football thts how much they care bout teh game passion for. thts y i love spanish football not only cause its skillfull n competetive bt also teh way teh clubs r run most of them are owned by fans. n except barca n real none of them have like big cheaque books bt still compete at teh top level of foot ball n make teh best out of w/e they have. most of teh clubs in la liga keep facing financial difficulties bt stil they do so well at european n domestic level. even teh players have bcome asses just play for teh moneynt for teh love of teh game. players like ronaldo, rooney, adebayor just want big wages n thts it. its seriously is so sad tht all this bussines n money is killing teh passion n spirit for teh game.

The Gaffer · 1 year ago

An excellent follow-up piece by David Conn of The Guardian:

http://tinyurl.com/5klz8m

Cheers,
The Gaffer

ROSSI · 1 year ago

A message to mufc fan jamaica1.Talk about bitter red!you have been buying your way to winning trophies for a long time now.just because somebody has come along to blow you out of your arm chair you carnt stand it.If the beautiful game is being taken over by money its clubs like yours that started it!TRUST ME!

Davey G · 1 year ago

Beginning of the end for football was when AbramoRich took over Chelsea. The premier league will become a billionaires playground, with players loyalty heavily comprimised for riches and footballs soul being crushed by the demand of over night success and trophys and managers being lucky to last a season if they fail to deliver (Mark Hughes your time is ticking!!!). one thing for sure, i feel for any young british boy / teenage with first team premiership ambitions because spaces will be way fewer in future with clubs opting to pay millions and fight bidding wars for whoever is the new 'pele' coming from europe or south america as oppose to nurturing the young Beckhams, Rooneys and Owens of the future.

James CAFC · 1 year ago

FAO: MUFC FAN JAMAICA1

I agree with what you say, however, you have to come to terms with football these days, it is no longer as passionate as "it used to be." Players consider everything in todays world, they consider family, where they live and the key thing is based on money. In the past there was not a lot of money based in football...in terms of wages, therefore, players stuck with one team and grew with that club as if it was a family. Money is more important to any kind of loyalty in modern society no matter what business you are in, when I say business that does include football too as football is no longer a sport it is more of an investment and business. I guarantee you, that you would leave a job for more money, or move football teams for more money (unless it was the team you support, Man Utd in your case and Charlton in mine)

Like you though, I would much prefer football to be played as it was in the "good ol' days." Things are getting out of hands, there should be a limit on wages, transfers and signing on fees, sadly though it is far to late for the FA to do anything about it.

chris mufc · 1 year ago

not just saying this as a man utd fan but as a football fan in general. the epl is no longer about football, its about business and money. if a team becomes a billionaires hobby- what happens when this billionaire decides to call it a day, then who will pay the players ridiculously high wages? i do not at all agree that footballers be paid huge amounts of money for training 4 days a week running around a little and kicking a football when the hard working class people out there are struggling to get by.....money has ruined football....RIP Passionate Football!!!!!

chris mufc · 1 year ago

and for the record i agree that it was manchester united that started this huge spending and im not happy about it. come on its got to stop, what happened to nurturing home grown players...take 1967 for example when celtic won the european cup..of their starting 11 not one of them came from more than 15 miles from celtic park. this is an achievement that shall NEVER be accomplished again. british youngsters with a dream of playing in the EPL>>Uefa should enforce a rule that each EPL club has to field at least 3 homegrown players (ie trained by club) and a further 4 english national players. which leaves scope for 4 international players to be fielded in the starting 11....COME ON PLATINI ACT ON THIS !!!!

Simon Burke · 1 year ago

Definitely a black day for football, i think and i am not entirely up to speed on this a team in Germany is doing the same thing and buying expensive players and the ownership bought a cheap club, got them up to the to pand are now a reasonable force in the bundesliga. - i forget the name of the team. Its not building a fanbase and developing players anymore. Its about signing the best players for the most ludicrous prices. As a City fan I would be delighted - they can now compete with the best. Chelsea started this nonsense (Abramovich rather than Chelsea) and its now getting out of control. Football spending should be tied to your income and not a billionaires wallet. Arsenal generate their own income and do a great job, it is doable but this is now a joke. It wont change without legislation either. Robinho getting 160,000 a week is laughable - he's not that good, i cant see him having a big impact in England and yet he has become the highest paid footballer on the planet by a non-football man. I hate the way football is going , i really do. Its now to the point where you need a rich Russian or Saudi or Sheik or billionaire entrepreneur to fund your club or you havent a chance.
I am just reading the perry Groves biography, terrific stuff and harkens back to a different time - of only 20 years ago where Perry got 350 for a win bonus and at one point was on 350 pounds a week at Arsenal, a lot of the players were English and the league was more interesting. The quality has since improved of the product but the game itself has gone backwards.
PS) I am a gooner and dont begrudge a lub having a billionaire but I begrudge football for allowing it.

JLay · 1 year ago

I still don't understand... how the hell are foreign players hurting the English national team? By the time you get to that level, either you can play or you can't...

Legislating that each team must field 7 crappy domestic players isn't going to accomplish anything other than lowering the standard of play in the league.

England's problem is poor coaching and a mediocre generation of players... crap is crap, my friend - and England are crap right now.

Matthew Rukoro · 1 year ago

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KenyanGooner · 1 year ago

Seems like EPL is now all about MONEY and who has the most. Not so much about the game it self

I guess we know now why the price of gas has been going up.

h?d?r · 1 year ago

?eyh al_fahim bu dünya fani bu kadar paray? da??t?oyprsun biraz borç verirmisin..bana i?lerim çok kötüye gidiyor bu türkiyede vermezsende can?n saolsunn allah yard?mc?n olsun

Kiko · 1 year ago

Mr. Dr Al Fahim
Could you give me 100 million euros?I´d love to buy a yacht and a Bentley.
Please, 100 million is nothing for you. I beg
Kik

rollwithit 27 · 1 year ago

Im a life long man city fan living in blackburn, only today i was speaking to a rovers fan, he was telling me how the abu dhabi united money is going to spoil the EPL, but he forgets that it was jack walker who paid for the title from his own companys profits no so long ago, ok the ADUG money is way way more but it all started with them, funny how they dont like it when it not there team winning, also look how the great have fallen will this happen to city after the billionairs are bored with there new toys.........!

spurs76 · 1 year ago

Why don't these Trillionaires go and build leagues in their own country and bring the best players to their leagues.

It would be like the Queen buying a team in the UAE and buying all the best players in the world.

OK the Queen here can't afford it but these Sheikh's can ?

It is abhorent that these people throw so much frivolous money around encouraging players who have never heard of their club to play for them whatever the cost when millions of their own citizens are starving, have no running water and live in medieval poverty.

These people should be stopped. They are using state money to pay for their hobbies whilst their people are 'raped', 'tortured' and have no freedom or votes.

Sorry some Arab nations until they adopt a democratic state should not be welcome and do not fit under the 'fit and proper person' rule.

Sorry City fans (not a bitter Spurs fan) just a realist and these people should not be allowed to do this

Tony Taylor · 1 year ago

Oi ! You should stop complaining and accept it. The club put itself up for sale. It does not belong to the fans any more than M&S belongs to the people who shop there. As for 'wasted money' the UAE doesn't dole out money to 'wasters' the way we do in the UK.

paul chelsea fan · 1 year ago

congrates to man city not sure how liverpool man u and arsenal feel about it but it wont make any difference to chelsea , so city have an endless pit of cash well how does that effect chelsea ,so do we and yes city did get robinho from under our noses but only because chelsea would not allow real madrid to hold them to ransom for a player not worth what city paid and by doing that they have now told every team around the world that they can sell there players for much much more then they are worth and chelsea buy refusing to budge they have let know that players do have a cut off price money will not win tropheys good management skills does that ,i know ,chelsea won nothing last season ,is it good for the game ,well i dont know some will say yes others will say no but again as a chelsea fan , thank you roman for making a stand lets get players who want to play for the club not just the money robinho was a great player in spain but this is england and mark huges has one hell of a job on his hands cant see him lasting more then 2 seasons got a funny feeling a certain portugise man managing in italy may find his way back to england along the line but good luck anyway ,

Edgar MAN UTD fan · 1 year ago

Money wont buy you championships look at real madrid, or even chelsea, the spend millions every year and havent one the champions league in a while, there are alot of teams for someone to say we are gonna be the best team and nothing is going to stop us is ridiculous, are we forgetting that some players pllay for the team not for the money we still have people with charater, dont forget barcelona, juventus, milan, inter, liverpool, real, arsenal, and MAN UTD all these teams have the same goal win everything but only one can win, so abu dhabi ow however your name is good luck but overtaking MAN UTD will be a hard task.

Anthony · 1 year ago

Imagine a situation that is happening all over the country in leagues that are the back bone of all that is great and crap about English football, the clubs who just get by and also the clubs that occasionally get a much needed cash injection from a local boy made good....suppose the situation arises and the likelihood of a return on investment for a championship club is a little dodgy and the likely response by fans at the charitable gesture in the disguise of a business move is a humorous one regarding how "we" get a millionaire and man city etc get billionaires....is this likely to inspire these occasional acts of much needed charity....not a chance, football in England is going to change massively and for the worse (in my opinion)...people are sick of the complete bullshit....and it is complete bullshit while the majority of fans are left in some kind of horrible mess.

Time for revolution me thinks.....all it needs is some fan power and the tv networks.

Numan · 1 year ago

The Abu Dhabi United Group i.e. Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim must have bought Manchester United instead of Manchester City. The Glazers are selfish.....they dont take out the money...

Karl · 1 year ago

roman abramovich is bollocks- he sold part of sibneft- which he inherited from boris , to fund his purchase of chelsea.- he says im going to pay £xxx millions of pounds- but does- he................. has he..................the transfer of robinho was the largest ever in premier league history. ADUG mean business. 30,40,50 even 200 millions nothing to them- thats pocket change compared to the multi billion pound construction of cities,theme parks, buildings etc.- its all well and good to say , yes im rich, i can put in a world record bid, which is never really confirmed only a rumour. Chelsea had been pondering over buying robinho for ages..and ages..and ages. ADUG brought city, brought robinho in a matter of days. Outbidded chelsea. These guys have deep pockets, they will bid for the superstars. whatever, anyone says, Abramovich has been officially dethroned hes no longer mr moneybags autocrat get whatever i want, ADUG are the kings now