If Saudi gets kicked out and unrecognized by the Arabs we'll accommodate them.
Saudi Arabia FA interested in joining UEFA Champions League (Bloomberg)
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
Why wouldn't Cyprus be?
When it comes to Armenia it is about historically and cultural connection that makes them "european". Although they are in Asia they are more connected to Europe. It also has a lot to do with Sovjet breaking up. What is considered to be Europe or not is not that simple. Geography speaking country is in Asia but not politically, historically and cultural. That is why they could apply for being part of UEFA.
So turns out this was a load of baloney then, Cerefin doesn't seem interested at all.
As you were.
As you were.
You know very well these are not comparable to Saudi at all. Where do you want Cyprus, EU member state, to play?
So Ceferin's statements are pretty thin. One could expect more from the chief representative of the European association than comparing apples and pears.
The fact that these people took over another sport shortly before is of course completely ignored.
But I admit, it's not easy to argue against such an opponent either.
What else should he say? "Players are leaving us every day and they are getting younger and younger, and actually we would have liked to keep them."
China, end of career.. yes, that's more appropriate.
It's just the usual political babble. One's own losses are constantly downplayed. And the opponent? I don't even take it seriously for a second. As if he had a chance.
No, my dear Aleksander, these are not a couple of Chinese business people.
It's a whole different caliber. Superpowers have had to bow to him.
The fact that these people took over another sport shortly before is of course completely ignored.
But I admit, it's not easy to argue against such an opponent either.
What else should he say? "Players are leaving us every day and they are getting younger and younger, and actually we would have liked to keep them."
China, end of career.. yes, that's more appropriate.
It's just the usual political babble. One's own losses are constantly downplayed. And the opponent? I don't even take it seriously for a second. As if he had a chance.
No, my dear Aleksander, these are not a couple of Chinese business people.
It's a whole different caliber. Superpowers have had to bow to him.
This is embarassing. Stop it.
They will never allow them in and the Saudis probably have no real interest as well. They would have to comply to FFP and thats never going to happen
But it still negates the argument that you have to be in Europe to be part of UEFA competitions. Under special circumstances, UEFA will accept others.
Only a "$pecial" cirumstance needs to be created.
There is no rule you have to be in Europe. If you want to take part in Champions League you need to be part of UEFA. That means they have to say good bye to Asian confederation and everything have to be accepted by FIFA and at UEFA congress. In extreme way, Australia could be in UEFA if all things would go their way. As could Fiji or North Korea. But it does help being country in Europe if we say so.
Must be true because "Transfer News Live" have tweeted it using "alharbi_44" as a source.
I look forward to Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, etc. all being handed popularity spots regardless of league position.
Edit: Just looked through your man's tweets, and they're all Al-Nassr/Ronaldo related, and include one claiming that "major European clubs" refused to participate in an end of season/pre-season tournament unless Al-Nassr were invited "to increase the number of views and attract the attention of all football fans"
I look forward to Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, etc. all being handed popularity spots regardless of league position.
Edit: Just looked through your man's tweets, and they're all Al-Nassr/Ronaldo related, and include one claiming that "major European clubs" refused to participate in an end of season/pre-season tournament unless Al-Nassr were invited "to increase the number of views and attract the attention of all football fans"
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Funny that it's considered one of the 3 most popular clubs in the world but I have never in my life met someone wearing a Al-Nassr jersey. I've seen people wearing jerseys from the Egyptian league outside of their own country (Zamalek), South Africa (Kaizer Chiefs), Mexico (UNAM and Guadalajara), Argentina (River, Boca and Independiente), Brazil (Flamengo, Vasco, Palmeiras), Japan (Nagoya Grampus Eight). Notice I'm not including a single european team here.
Your average football fan hadn't heard of Al-Nassr before Ronaldo went there.
Your average football fan hadn't heard of Al-Nassr before Ronaldo went there.
I’m done with football.
It's obviously nonsense. It won't randomly happen overnight but it's likely to happen before the World Cup is held there in 2034.
What will happen first though is a Champions League final in Riyadh, Dubai or Doha.
What will happen first though is a Champions League final in Riyadh, Dubai or Doha.
UEFA has the monopoly on European football "prestige" and they are going to monetize the shit out of it. They're going to keep coming up with these ridiculous ideas until there is an organization to rival UEFA. The same thing happens in all sports eventually e.g NBA playing games outside of North America
If Maccabi Haifa can play…
Without the big clubs, the CL is nothing, and I can’t see what the big clubs would have to gain from this move. I can’t see them being on board with it.
I'd love to know how they judged them to be the top 3 most popular clubs. It's literally impossible that's true
I’ve seen a couple, mainly kids with Ronaldo on the back
It’s not. That Alharbi guy tweeted that and the aggregator picked it up.
Edit - Guys, Al-Nassr is not considered a top 3 most popular clubs in the world.
Money? They'd get paid too I suppose. You're telling me the likes of Barsa won't bend over for an extra 40, 50 million in revenue a year?
Of course it isn't. That's what I'm saying. The idea is patently absurd.
This is a matter of time. UEFA either have to let them in or be faced with a Super League prospect.
I assumed in this scenario that it would only be UEFA getting paid, not the clubs themselves. I can definitely see the Glazers accepting money to let SA in
All teams would benefit from this. Saudis would gladly pay £1bn+ a year to have their teams compete in CL + organize CL final every year. Maybe a final 4 kind of competition even.
won’t be long until a youngsters’ mettle is judged on whether or not they can do it on a sticky night in riyadh.
Well, they get less than half Sunderland do each week and almost nobody watches their free-to-air games on YouTube, so massive I guess.
They're killing the sportImagine drawing an away trip to Riyadh. Wounding.
Will never happen, pretty sure UEFA have stated this already.
What’s the problem guys? Saudi Arabia is a beautiful European country. Don’t see the issue here.
Asia is getting smaller and smaller
Wrexham's more popular than Al Nassr, ffs.
Eh? I've seen plenty of Al Nassr (Ronaldo) kits at my son's training sessions across London. Definitely popular amongst the youth faw shaw. I also remember reading somewhere that they haven't been able to officially release their new Nike kits for sale since they are not used to dealing with high demand and don't have the resources for customisations etc.
Time for the European clubs to disassociate from UEFA and start up their own European competition for European teams. This money monopoly UEFA and FIFA has over European clubs and international football is disgusting with how blatantly corrupt and money hungry they are.
Yeah me too on holiday this summer.
Had to look closely at the badge as I thought they were random non-league shirts
Why is everyone getting worked up over a made-up twitter rumor with no credible sources?
And they'll swiftly forget about Al-Nassr once he's retired or left.
I think there is a growing trend of "player support" over traditional club support, particularly among younger football fans whose knowledge of the game seem to come largely from which player has the highest Ultimate Team rating at any given moment, but I'm not sure any players come close to the level of cult support that Ronaldo and Messi have.
Will be interesting to see if anyone takes their place when they've both retired.
It happens every time a random Saudi account with zero credibility starts a tweet with "News" and makes something up.
The same account has claimed that major European clubs refused to participate in a pre-season tournament unless Al-Nassr were invited, because they were scared no one would want to watch it without them there.