CROSSING THE RÚBICON
Football transfers carry a degree of risk. At least they’re supposed to. The gamble is part of the fun. There’s no telling how a superstar talent will fit in at a new team. Juan Sebastián Verón, anyone?
But what if none of that mattered? What if the permanence of a contract was merely a fugazi? Something that wasn’t worth the paper rumour mills are run on? As it stands, players who join a club that is part of a multi-team ownership model are effectively available to any of their satellite sides. It has rarely been an issue at the highest level, but what if a world-class player signed for one club for an eye-watering fee, and was then loaned to a Champions League team with the same owner? It could be about to happen; welcome to the new age of football.
Rúben Neves, the 26-year-old Wolves captain, is about to sign for the Saudi Arabian team Al-Hilal for a cool £47m. Unlike the other big names who have set up shop in the petrostate lately, Neves is at the peak of powers. With respect to the ambitious Saudi league, it feels like a step down and is reminiscent of Oscar doing one from Chelsea to Shanghai Port in the Chinese Super League when he was 25.
Thank goodness for loopholes, then. Because Neves may not be lost to the Premier League just yet. Al-Hilal are one of four Saudi clubs owned by the state’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Its mission is to bankroll these teams and turn them into totems of the world game – including Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, Kanté and Benzema’s Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal, who have (for some reason) promised to make Álvaro Morata the world’s highest-paid player.
But the Saudis, deep-pocketed though they may undeniably be, recognise there is a global game at play here – which is why a widely reported two-year loan deal could see Neves don the black and white of Newcastle. Eddie Howe’s Premier League upstarts are also owned by PIF, and if this move unfolds as expected, we may yet cross another Rubicon in the sport’s history.
A Uefa report published in February described the explosion of multi-club franchises as having “the potential to pose a material threat to the integrity of European club competitions”. The continent’s governing body also reported an estimated 6,500 players from 195 clubs were employed by 27 multi-club investment groups. A third of these are US based – 777 Partners, the Miami firm that owns Hertha Berlin, Sevilla, Genoa and Standard Liège, has been linked with Todd Boehly’s Chelsea – but there are other global power blocs coalescing.
If Neves does play for Newcastle – and there seems to be nothing in the porous Premier League rulebook that would prohibit him from doing so – it would provide Howe with a top-drawer midfielder without making a dent in his budget. Not only would that allow Newcastle to circumnavigate those pesky FFP rules, they would also have the power to turn any PIF-owned team into a glorified academy.
We’ve already seen the pitfalls of such a model in cricket. Jos Buttler, arguably England’s greatest ever white-ball batter, is a prime case study. Through the season he wears the same garish pink kit for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, Paarl Royals in South Africa and could do the same for the Barbados Royals in the Caribbean [nice work if you can get it – Daily Ed]. It’s hard for fans to invest in players and narratives when the stage changes so often.
The Royals “Universe” (yes, “Universe”) or, to give its proper name, the Emerging Media IPL Ltd, is one of four similar brands in world cricket with their flagship team in the IPL. Their mission is simple. They want to consume cricket and control all of its content. They’ve swallowed teams in South Africa, the USA and the UAE and they’ll want to do the same in England.
Individualism means nothing. Players are reduced to universal parts that can be slotted in where needed like additional bits in an Ikea package. Football has more robust safety nets, but for how long? Neves could be the difference for Newcastle next season as they go on a famous Big Cup run or title challenge. Owners of other football franchises will be paying close attention.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If you lose at Real Madrid, it is like the world has ended. You are crucified. You feel down. You go home and you’re not happy. They accept losing a bit more [in MLS]. There is no consequence. You can’t get relegated over there. When you lose a game you go on to the next one. They accept losing a lot better over there.”
Gareth Bale, possibly while lining up a putt on one of California’s many immaculate golf courses, explains why Lionel Messi might enjoy life in the USA! USA!! USA!!!
THE RACE FOR RICE
Arsenal’s pursuit of Declan Rice is all going perfectly to plan. Starting out with an £80m bid, the Gunners inched up to a deal worth £90m on Tuesday, but West Ham took issue with the add-ons. No matter, nice and easy, make a third offer later in the week. Wait, what’s this? Ilkay Gündogan off to Barcelona? Manchester City suddenly in the market for a smooth midfield operator – and with a Kalvin Phillips-shaped bargaining chip? Still, as some wags on various social media disgraces have noted, it’s not like Rice has form for changing his mind when a better team comes calling. Gah!
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
“While watching Erling Haaland sticking another couple in the old onion bag for Norway against Cyprus, I noticed that the opposing manager was none other than Temur Ketsbaia. Surely there must be a job in English football for him – imagine the post-goal kickings he could give the hoardings behind the dugout” – Kevin Worley.
“As the Saudi leagues hoover up players to recycle petrodollars and so even more of our hard-earned money goes into football’s pockets, on top of that earned through endless TV deals, gambling and eye-watering ticket prices, perhaps we should simply introduce a football tax (FAT) and cut out all of the nonsense that just gets in the way of the football these days” – Robert George [or: STOP FOOTBALL? – Daily Ed].
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Kevin Worley.
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