Saudi Sportswashing

[metirish]

They probably need a thread ,not only are they taking over golf, not going down well... but soccer is a big avenue for them to burnish their rep

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... ma-ronaldo

[Fman99]

Like I need another reason to fully ignore all things related to pro golf

[metirish]

Right, I would watch some Ryder Cup , but fuck that sport , anyway some of the $$ aging soccer players are getting is insane , $200 million a season, $100 million

[metirish]

[whippoorwill]

Good grief

[MFS62]

No amount of athlete's sweat can wash the blood of 9-11 off their hands.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Notable that his team's jersey sponsor is also a version of sportswashing.

[metirish]

Yes, that is the team he just left,Real Madrid , they sponsor a lot of soccer teams, and stadiums

[Edgy MD]

And I always assumed that the original AFC Richmond jersey sponsor, Dubai Air, was thinly fictionalized stand-in for Air Emirates.

[metirish]

The same group bought Newcastle United a while back , the Saudi PIF fund, they passed the rigorous "fit and proper" test of new owners in the EPL ...anyway , fans of the down for years Newcastle are more or less happy, team finished 4th and are in the Champions league nest season

[metirish]

As a Manchester United fan I want this to go through, absolutely despise the Glazers

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... imatum-bid

[metirish]

No idea who this person is but might be in for some fireworks

[Edgy MD]

I'm curious about the longer-than-a-tweet version of that story is, and what authority is going to block them.

Also curious about what kind of juice a Rory McElroy/Tiger Woods posse of players throwing their weight together can do. If you got the starpower and the sponsors, its your tour.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Nobody can outspend a Saudi wealth fund. I think what happened this week is they stopped buying golfers and bought the game instead.

[metirish]

Absolutely nobody

[A Boy Named Seo]

Holy shit. Is that the same team as Ronaldo? Would be hilarious if he went to Saudi to be the big shit and was the number two on his own team.

[Edgy MD]

I didn't read it, but there was a recent essay in the Post (I think) about how it's not sportswashing. It's engagement.

I hope to read it, but I needed to steel myself first.

[metirish]

No this is a different Al....Koulibaly(Chelsea) Ruben Neves (Wolves) Milinković-Savić etc ...anyway PSG have accepted their bid apparently ( €300 million) , until it happens I would take those numbers with a pinch of salt , I'm sure things like sponsors, image rights etc are factors here , still, talk about disruption

[A Boy Named Seo]

Jordan Henderson is the saddest example of this Saudi sportswashing engagement. Outspoken advocate for all things Pride in England, but taking a giant bag of money to quietly go play in Saudi where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death. Fight the power, bruv.

[metirish]

Yeah, he is getting plenty of stick for it , can't ever speak on those issues again ,and that's it through right? Saudi see what their $$ can do

[A Boy Named Seo]

Absolutely nobody

Just saw a post by BRfootball that broke down Mbappe's proposed deal:

$776M for one season
$64.6M per month
$14.7M per week
$2.1M per day
$88,500 per hour
$24 per second

Each number sounds so preposterous and then I read the next one.

[nymr83]

FIFA cashed a big check to host their world cup in a dictatorship where homosexuality can get you killed, but they need to admonish Mexican fans for a homophobic chant. Their alleged values last exactly as long as they are free.

[Frayed Knot]

Rules are for the masses, not for the elites.

[A Boy Named Seo]

FIFA cashed a big check to host their world cup in a dictatorship where homosexuality can get you killed, but they need to admonish Mexican fans for a homophobic chant. Their alleged values last exactly as long as they are free.

In defense of their all-around ineptitude, they don't do nearly enough to get rid of the homophobic chant.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Saudi: "Hey Kylian, you want 3 quarters of a billion dollars to play in Saudi Arabia for one season?"

Kylian Mbappe: "Nah, I'm good."