just to add to all of this, it's kind of hard to point the finger at the Saudis when you have European clubs like Chelsea who are destroying the market from within. I'm not going to defend the Saudis at all, I think it's despicable that so many high-profile players bend the knee for a murderous regime with a horrific human rights record. But from a pure football perspective, Chelsea is pure poison for the market. Shelling out ~850m in a year (!) is crazy enough, handing out 8 year contracts and gaming the system with amortisation games is just bat#### crazy.
I hope they continue to fail miserably and I'm sure 99% of football fans, no matter who they support, will feel the same. Sadly, if you burn that much money, you'll eventually end up with a strong XI.
|