City’s ‘sponsors’

[yumtum]

Enforcing their own FFP rules and giving out harsh punishments to those who break them would have been a start. But that ship has long since sailed and now inevitably this farce will lead to a Super League eventually.

To be honest, I haven't actually read the wording of their rules, but I doubt that UEFA would have the time, resources or the will to look into every clubs sponsorship deal, so La Liga complaining will fall on def (or just plain corrupt - probably corrupt) ears.

At the end if the day, football has lost as soon as the powers that be allowed these stste owned clubs to exist.

 

[diarm]

Nah, the PL is way more exciting to me now than when Utd just dominated year after year. The difference is, a lot of Utd fans are having to adapt to a reality where they can be matched financially and they just don’t like it.
Because let’s me honest you don’t want a level playing field, you wan to to return to a time when Utd were the biggest and best.

United were never the biggest spenders when we were successful. For the first decade and a half under Fergie we were around 5th or 6th I think - behind sides like Liverpool, Blackburn, Newcastle, Chelsea, Villa and more.

Our crazy spending, trying to match the likes of City and Chelsea, coincided with our decline.

 

[Sandikan]

The time to clamp down on City's dodgy dealing is after Klopp goes.
Until then the greater good means they can be allowed.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Nah, the PL is way more exciting to me now than when Utd just dominated year after year. The difference is, a lot of Utd fans are having to adapt to a reality where they can be matched financially and they just don’t like it.
Because let’s me honest you don’t want a level playing field, you wan to to return to a time when Utd were the biggest and best.

Firstly, we weren't the best because we spent a lot, we just had SAF. Look at the transfer windows through the PL years*:

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

00

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

Highest Spend (Net)

Blackburn

Blackburn

Everton

Newcastle

Leeds

Newcastle

United

Liverpool

Leeds

Fulham

United

Chelsea

Chelsea

Chelsea

WHUM

Spurs

City

City

City

Chelsea

Chelsea

Highest Spend (Total)

Blackburn

Blackburn

Everton

Newcastle

Newcastle

Blackburn

Blackburn

Liverpool

Arsenal

United

United

Chelsea

Chelsea

Chelsea

Chelsea

United

City

City

City

City

Chelsea

*Transfermarkt doesn't have data for 92

Secondly, I might be in the minority but the dream scenario is one where you get as competitive league as possible - something we don't have now - which stops teams doing what City are doing and what, no doubt, Newcastle are on their way to doing, which is bad for the game. People always think more money coming into the league = a better league but it only works like that if the % of money coming in isn't so specific to each club.

Thing that frustrates me with City (when I forget they are owned by a country which shouldn't be allowed) is they didn't even need to do it, they just got impatient trying to get into the CL money places.

 

[::sonny::]

Florentino Perez hand

 

[stevoc]

To be honest, I haven't actually read the wording of their rules, but I doubt that UEFA would have the time, resources or the will to look into every clubs sponsorship deal, so La Liga complaining will fall on def (or just plain corrupt - probably corrupt) ears.

Maybe not but it wouldn't hurt to keep a close eye on state owned teams.

At the end if the day, football has lost as soon as the powers that be allowed these stste owned clubs to exist.

Indeed, when the dictator of a Middle Eastern state can call up the British Prime Minister and ask him to put pressure on the Premier League to force through the Newcastle takeover. It highlights why countries shouldn't be allowed to own football clubs.

 

[MUFC OK]

The time to clamp down on City's dodgy dealing is after Klopp goes.
Until then the greater good means they can be allowed.

Their dodgy dealings will be perfectly legal under the current rules. City can hire the best lawyers in the world to ensure that every deal they sign etc is well within what they are entitled to do. And knowing City, they will have done their due diligence so I think they can rest easy.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

All totally legitimate, nothing to see here.

 

[one340]

Haaland and Mbappe don't come to La Liga and now this complaint comes is. Don't get me wrong City most definitely engages in shady deals all the time so the accusation is probably correct... but what's that saying about stones and glass houses?

 

[SuperiorXI]

City's sponsors aren't legitimate?

Surely not? I am shocked.

 

[erikcred]

Haaland and Mbappe don't come to La Liga and now this complaint comes is. Don't get me wrong City most definitely engages in shady deals all the time so the accusation is probably correct... but what's that saying about stones and glass houses?

That saying only applies if you're alleging that clubs in La Liga engage in shady deals all the time. I don't think they do. The big two clubs are arrogant and throw their weight around often, but it's in the open.

 

[Jeppers7]

Nah, the PL is way more exciting to me now than when Utd just dominated year after year. The difference is, a lot of Utd fans are having to adapt to a reality where they can be matched financially and they just don’t like it.
Because let’s me honest you don’t want a level playing field, you wan to to return to a time when Utd were the biggest and best.

City dominating is more exciting to you, because you hate United. Doesn’t change the fact that United dominated spending money they earned but not more than all others. The club was grown over time organically and the trophies the results of footballing geniuses like SAF and SMB, because outside of them two we haven’t dominated anything.

Its not about us not wanting a level playing field, I started watching united in the 80s and dreamed of seeing us win one league title, while Liverpool won league after league. I’m more than comfortable with where we have been for the last nine years. It is exactly where we deserve to be given the gross mismanagement of the club and when we get back to the top (if) I hope we will deserve that too. That we will achieve it on a level playing field like we always have done, abiding by the same rules as everyone else, not signing up to them and laughing in the face of the rules and every other club by ignoring them. It’s about the fact that 92 clubs sign up to the rules and 91 clubs adhere to the rules while the club you are so gleeful of makes up fake sponsorships, gets given the stadium and then later employs the councillor that handed it over, pays players and managers through offshore accounts doubling salaries, has CEO’s writing emails to the owners on how to respond to the fact that they sold arms to countries at war etc etc etc.

That you are so wrapped in bitterness regarding a club that has no relevance to Ipswich at all is sad for you….You’re like the masses in this country though, fed by the media to the point that you can’t even see beyond your hatred. You probably believed the likes of Rio, Becks, Ronaldo we’re the worst people in the world during their media driven ‘scandals’ whilst the likes of Lee Hughes carry on regardless. Pathetic really.

 

[yumtum]

Maybe not but it wouldn't hurt to keep a close eye on state owned teams.




Indeed, when the dictator of a Middle Eastern state can call up the British Prime Minister and ask him to put pressure on the Premier League to force through the Newcastle takeover. It highlights why countries shouldn't be allowed to own football clubs.

Yup, I'm in complete agreement that state owned clubs are despicable for many reasons (not just footballing ones) and to say I hate everything these clubs stand for would be an understatement (along with the fans that support them).

But lodging complaints to UEFA (who have allowed a director of one of these clubs to be on the board) is futile, as they're complaining to the people who are gladly taking the money and selling their souls for that cash, so complaining has no real benefit.

You could say it will highlight the corrupt nature of these clubs, but the fans that care already know about it, and the ones who don't care, won't care anyway - look at the people in this very thread saying they enjoy the "competition"! It's quite frankly embarrassing.

At the moment state owned clubs are a benefit to United fans as they've stopped Liverpool from dominating the league, truth be known, deep down I think every United fan knows Liverpool have been robbed, the simple fan in me finds it hilarious, but looking at the bigger picture it's fecking horrible.

The complete indifference football fans have to City winning the league is telling, along with United fans actively wanting them to win over Liverpool, that should really make sports media and City fans themselves question how relevant they are when not even "their closest rivals" care about them dominati the league, no one gives a shit about them.

 

[Swedish_Plumber]

The jealous old glamour gal taking down the hot new thing.

 

[BeforeKeanetherewasRobson]

City dominating is more exciting to you, because you hate United. Doesn’t change the fact that United dominated spending money they earned but not more than all others. The club was grown over time organically and the trophies the results of footballing geniuses like SAF and SMB, because outside of them two we haven’t dominated anything.

Its not about us not wanting a level playing field, I started watching united in the 80s and dreamed of seeing us win one league title, while Liverpool won league after league. I’m more than comfortable with where we have been for the last nine years. It is exactly where we deserve to be given the gross mismanagement of the club and when we get back to the top (if) I hope we will deserve that too. That we will achieve it on a level playing field like we always have done, abiding by the same rules as everyone else, not signing up to them and laughing in the face of the rules and every other club by ignoring them. It’s about the fact that 92 clubs sign up to the rules and 91 clubs adhere to the rules while the club you are so gleeful of makes up fake sponsorships, gets given the stadium and then later employs the councillor that handed it over, pays players and managers through offshore accounts doubling salaries, has CEO’s writing emails to the owners on how to respond to the fact that they sold arms to countries at war etc etc etc.

That you are so wrapped in bitterness regarding a club that has no relevance to Ipswich at all is sad for you….You’re like the masses in this country though, fed by the media to the point that you can’t even see beyond your hatred. You probably believed the likes of Rio, Becks, Ronaldo we’re the worst people in the world during their media driven ‘scandals’ whilst the likes of Lee Hughes carry on regardless. Pathetic really.

This

 

[Manchester Dan]

Love it.

What year were these rules invented again?

 

[Stookie]

"they don't get their money from a huge fan base and noodle sponsorships, wah wah, underserved, wah wah"

Mate, it affects Arsenal as well. I mean, if City and all their riches hadn’t come along, Arsenal would probably still have won Zero more titles.

 

[Beachryan]

It's just such a weird thing to support. The oil-clubs have totally distorted the market. Trying to keep up has spiralled up enormous debt among clubs without state-funding. Further downt he pyramid, clubs are desperate to sell 1 player to an oil club which they can then build half a squad with.

As always I'd encourage fans of other clubs to ignore Manchester United because we've been run by a bloody idiot for a decade. Take us out. Arsenal, Spurs, Barca, Madrid, Bayern, all of Italy - all the clubs thave to stand on their own two feet are struggling. The only exception is Liverpool, so kudos there. But that's kind of it.

 

[stevoc]

Yup, I'm in complete agreement that state owned clubs are despicable for many reasons (not just footballing ones) and to say I hate everything these clubs stand for would be an understatement (along with the fans that support them).

But lodging complaints to UEFA (who have allowed a director of one of these clubs to be on the board) is futile, as they're complaining to the people who are gladly taking the money and selling their souls for that cash, so complaining has no real benefit.

You could say it will highlight the corrupt nature of these clubs, but the fans that care already know about it, and the ones who don't care, won't care anyway - look at the people in this very thread saying they enjoy the "competition"! It's quite frankly embarrassing.

At the moment state owned clubs are a benefit to United fans as they've stopped Liverpool from dominating the league, truth be known, deep down I think every United fan knows Liverpool have been robbed, the simple fan in me finds it hilarious, but looking at the bigger picture it's fecking horrible.

Yeah anyone who thinks Oil money brought competition should be embarrassed.

Not just Liverpool to be fair I reckon we'd have had 2-3 more titles as well without City's financially doped domination.

The complete indifference football fans have to City winning the league is telling, along with United fans actively wanting them to win over Liverpool, that should really make sports media and City fans themselves question how relevant they are when not even "their closest rivals" care about them dominati the league, no one gives a shit about them.

What annoys me more is that I'm not annoyed by City's success over the last 5 years. I should care but I just can't manage it because the whole organization is a soulless artificial entity.

 

[Sandikan]

Nah, the PL is way more exciting to me now than when Utd just dominated year after year. The difference is, a lot of Utd fans are having to adapt to a reality where they can be matched financially and they just don’t like it.
Because let’s me honest you don’t want a level playing field, you wan to to return to a time when Utd were the biggest and best.

This is a pretty dim logic really, one that probably falls into ABU.

It's not the being bumped as the most successful club, it's the manner of it.

You can see from people losing their sh!t at the idea of Liverpool winning stuff, versus absolute apathy when City do to explain the difference.

You look at the financials of income/sponsorship and merch etc, and City are ridiculously quite close to United. Close to a United who are absolute world leaders at those last things.
Yet City, when anyone with eyes can see they don't even fill their own ground each week, can suddenly match United with a much huger UK and global fanbase? It stinks really.

 

[alexthelion]

Yup, I'm in complete agreement that state owned clubs are despicable for many reasons (not just footballing ones) and to say I hate everything these clubs stand for would be an understatement (along with the fans that support them).

But lodging complaints to UEFA (who have allowed a director of one of these clubs to be on the board) is futile, as they're complaining to the people who are gladly taking the money and selling their souls for that cash, so complaining has no real benefit.

You could say it will highlight the corrupt nature of these clubs, but the fans that care already know about it, and the ones who don't care, won't care anyway - look at the people in this very thread saying they enjoy the "competition"! It's quite frankly embarrassing.

At the moment state owned clubs are a benefit to United fans as they've stopped Liverpool from dominating the league, truth be known, deep down I think every United fan knows Liverpool have been robbed, the simple fan in me finds it hilarious, but looking at the bigger picture it's fecking horrible.

The complete indifference football fans have to City winning the league is telling, along with United fans actively wanting them to win over Liverpool, that should really make sports media and City fans themselves question how relevant they are when not even "their closest rivals" care about them dominati the league, no one gives a shit about them.

Well said.

 

[JPRouve]

Mate, it affects Arsenal as well. I mean, if City and all their riches hadn’t come along, Arsenal would probably still have won Zero more titles.

I love the fact that so many people think that @adexkola supports Arsenal.

 

[JPRouve]

Didn't Barcelona had a dodgy deal with QSI?

 

[DanielofLeyland]

This is a pretty dim logic really, one that probably falls into ABU.

It's not the being bumped as the most successful club, it's the manner of it.

You can see from people losing their sh!t at the idea of Liverpool winning stuff, versus absolute apathy when City do to explain the difference.

You look at the financials of income/sponsorship and merch etc, and City are ridiculously quite close to United. Close to a United who are absolute world leaders at those last things.
Yet City, when anyone with eyes can see they don't even fill their own ground each week, can suddenly match United with a much huger UK and global fanbase? It stinks really.

Spot on.

 

[Maluco]

This is a pretty dim logic really, one that probably falls into ABU.

It's not the being bumped as the most successful club, it's the manner of it.

You can see from people losing their sh!t at the idea of Liverpool winning stuff, versus absolute apathy when City do to explain the difference.

You look at the financials of income/sponsorship and merch etc, and City are ridiculously quite close to United. Close to a United who are absolute world leaders at those last things.
Yet City, when anyone with eyes can see they don't even fill their own ground each week, can suddenly match United with a much huger UK and global fanbase? It stinks really.

Perfectly summed up.

 

[Gazza]

Nah, the PL is way more exciting to me now than when Utd just dominated year after year. The difference is, a lot of Utd fans are having to adapt to a reality where they can be matched financially and they just don’t like it.
Because let’s me honest you don’t want a level playing field, you wan to to return to a time when Utd were the biggest and best.

I mean, United never 'dominated year after year'. The closest you could get to that actually being true would have been 1999/2000 and 2000/2001, when United won the league by 18 and 10 points respectively. Look at any other title United won in that period and you will see they were contested almost right to the end, so this idea that United were dominating every year is just not actually true. In fact, one could say City's dominance in the last 5 years is much more of a closed shop than it ever was with United. So it's a bizarre argument you're trying to make, which isn't really backed up by objective inspection.

 

[Cheech Wizard]

Adding Palermo to their portfolio now. 11th club they'll own, ridiculous. Fairplay to NAC Breda's fans for telling them to do one though.

 

[stevoc]

QWEEN

Adding Palermo to their portfolio now. 11th club they'll own, ridiculous. Fairplay to NAC Breda's fans for telling them to do one though.

Hadn't heard about that one, fair play to them indeed.

This bit was interesting on an article I just found. You see bot accounts on here as well favourable towards City/Newcastle.

A social media campaign ran alongside the in-stadium protests. The only hint of support for the takeover, Deckers says, came online.

"It was strange," he says. "We saw accounts appearing on our website and on Twitter which were anonymous and had made-up nicknames.

"A lot of them appeared with a very similar writing style, but it was obvious to us they weren’t real people. Especially on platforms where you can be anonymous, like Twitter, there were a lot more pro-City Football Group messages than on the others, like Facebook."

https://www.sportsjoe.ie/football/nac-breda-man-city-football-group-258151

 

[The Irish Connection]

Good thread

 

[Sky1981]

If you want to own a British team and take part in European tournaments you should follow the rules and laws established by their footballing governments. If you don't want that due to "cultural differences", go own a team in another country.

Except they do follow the rules and loopholes you guys made. It's not like they rob that club and made them their own.

Their legal contracts are all certified and ratified by the England government.

So unless you start to own up you're part of the corruption

 

[Womp]

They've ruined the sport for me here too with their Melbourne City acquisition. What shocked me most was the fact that the A-league could be any more unappealing than it already was.

 

[yumtum]

They've ruined the sport for me here too with their Melbourne City acquisition. What shocked me most was the fact that the A-league could be any more unappealing than it already was.

Interesting hearing more from the fans of the clubs who got gobbled up by the City group - read up on that NEC Breda takeover attempt earlier and it got me thinking about it.

 

[Lay]

How successful are clubs in their group? Girona were relegated under them I think. Not sure about the others

 

[RoyH1]

This is a pretty dim logic really, one that probably falls into ABU.

It's not the being bumped as the most successful club, it's the manner of it.

You can see from people losing their sh!t at the idea of Liverpool winning stuff, versus absolute apathy when City do to explain the difference.

You look at the financials of income/sponsorship and merch etc, and City are ridiculously quite close to United. Close to a United who are absolute world leaders at those last things.
Yet City, when anyone with eyes can see they don't even fill their own ground each week, can suddenly match United with a much huger UK and global fanbase? It stinks really.

And that is exactly it. I'd just add that it looks remarkably suspicious when so many of your sponsors are from other companies owned in the country that for all purposes owns you (Etihad, EtiSalat, Visit Abu Dhabi, Expo Dubai, Aldar Properties, Masdar, etc, etc)

 

[tomaldinho1]

How successful are clubs in their group? Girona were relegated under them I think. Not sure about the others

I swear Girona was bought purely so they could give Guardiola’s brother a massive payday. I think initially people just thought they wanted to acquire clubs to make a loan carousel but it’s very clearly for FFP purposes as a multi club ownership model. I genuinely have no idea how it was allowed when you look into all the corruption they don’t even bother hiding it…City recommended the CAS chairman Rui Santos for their own case and ‘neutral’ panel member Andrew McDougall literally had Etisalat as a client. One day I do think it’s all going to come out and the full scale of their corruption will be laid bare but it will only be when someone investigates them who can’t be paid off.

 

[NicolaSacco]

This is a pretty dim logic really, one that probably falls into ABU.

It's not the being bumped as the most successful club, it's the manner of it.

You can see from people losing their sh!t at the idea of Liverpool winning stuff, versus absolute apathy when City do to explain the difference.

You look at the financials of income/sponsorship and merch etc, and City are ridiculously quite close to United. Close to a United who are absolute world leaders at those last things.
Yet City, when anyone with eyes can see they don't even fill their own ground each week, can suddenly match United with a much huger UK and global fanbase? It stinks really.

Can I just point out that when City win you blame finances and when Liverpool win you blame luck/referees/VAR. So let’s not pretend it’s the manner of being bumped. There’ll always be a way to blame what’s happening on some outside external factor.

 

[RoyH1]

I swear Girona was bought purely so they could give Guardiola’s brother a massive payday. I think initially people just thought they wanted to acquire clubs to make a loan carousel but it’s very clearly for FFP purposes as a multi club ownership model. I genuinely have no idea how it was allowed when you look into all the corruption they don’t even bother hiding it…City recommended the CAS chairman Rui Santos for their own case and ‘neutral’ panel member Andrew McDougall literally had Etisalat as a client. One day I do think it’s all going to come out and the full scale of their corruption will be laid bare but it will only be when someone investigates them who can’t be paid off.

Agree. One day I think eventually some serious investigative journalists will lay it all bare, probably somewhere like Germany with The Spiegel. I think the oil states have too much money and influence in the English speaking world for an english language media to survive their legal onslaught if they start sniffing around.

 

[Devil77]

Can I just point out that when City win you blame finances and when Liverpool win you blame luck/referees/VAR. So let’s not pretend it’s the manner of being bumped. There’ll always be a way to blame what’s happening on some outside external factor.

Oh, come on! The luck/VAR thing with Liverpool is mostly tongue-in-cheek and normal banter. The blatant financial doping by the oil clubs is on a different scale. It's like saying that PEDs should be allowed because it boosts competition.

 

[Hughie77]

We have contacted City for a comment. Has there been one?.

 

[Sky1981]

What's wrong with meeting a president?