The Premier league will still allow them in via other Premier league clubs though, so don’t worry about it. Nothing us the small man can do about it.
The Saudis will get a place in the CL eventually. I would say their flagrant disregard for FFP will be an issue but it really won’t.
If they carry on spending like they are, their league in 5 years will be a top 5 league in the world. It’s not going to take long when you can pay ten times what other clubs can.
How are they going to achieve what La Liga, Serie A couldn’t achieve?
La Liga and Serie A are not in the Top 5 leagues in the world?
I wasn’t focusing on being top 5, rather on what it takes to be a highly consumed product.
La Liga had all the world’s best players for 10 years between 2008-2018. They had the legendary Barcelona team managed by Pep & the MSN era. Then they had Real who won 4 CLs. But still, they never managed to sell La Liga as well as the product was.
Manchester City has had a golden era for the last 5-6 seasons now. However, they have not amassed a fan base equivalent to Arsenal, who have not won a PL or CL in the last 20 seasons.
Getting a following for your club & your league is really different from any other business where throwing money can get you the result. If Saudis are under the impression that they can become a popular league simply by buying money, they will have a reality check in coming months.
I get that but the Top 5 argument is an interesting one. I don’t think they will reach or surpass La Liga or Serie A. However, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 ain’t exactly pulling up trees.
There’s an argument to be made about Primeira Liga or Eredivisie being ahead of them. Pretty positive that Ligue 1 has been off the Top 5 in UEFA’s rankings for a couple years now.
There’s a space there for an alternative beyond PL, Serie A and La Liga.
There’s a obviously a big discussion to be had around human rights there but Arabs have been in the game for some time now. The best football team for the past 5-6 years now is owned by UAE. PSG is owned by Qatar. Newcastle is owned by Saudi Arabia.
We’ve just had World Cup in the middle of the season in Qatar. Despite all the complaints, the proposed strikes or the promises of making a statement there(like wearing a rainbow armband), the tournament went ahead and fans, footballers, coaches and others just carried on and ended up celebrating the occasion.
Some are calling the final of the tournament one of the best football games ever.
It’s sad but it feels like people are willing to turn a blind eye for their entertainment. I shamel fall into that category as well. I watched the Spanish Super Cup final that took place there. I watched Saudi league games before. I watched wrestling shows there. They’re expanding beyond just football.
I think the only thing really stopping them is them running out of ridiculous money to spend. However, most of the reports I have seen/heard suggest that money is not a problem for them.
They’re making a huge push to promote their league. Their league is now broadcasted in England, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, Greece, Romania, Croatia, Hungary, etc.
They will need to convince some younger stars to ply their trade in Saudi for it to surpass the European Leagues.
Salah would have been a huge coup, but they need a Haaland or Mbappe.
They will get bored of being ignored long before that happens.
Perhaps. Even if they do become 4th ranked league, it would mean nothing.
They won’t have the viewership.
Right now, everyone is curious, they are in the headlines and they have some big-name players, so curiosity will get people to watch an occasional match.
But watch how they are slowly fading away from the limelight now that the window is closed.
You will see some clips from that league here and there but only geeks would put an effort to watch their matches.
They can push all they want but football fans are a different set of customers. They are not fans of football, but rather fans of a club. Neutral football fans are a rare species.
I rarely watch any non-Arsenal football matches. I bet 90% of OA members watch at max 10-15 full 90mins of non-Arsenal matches in a season.
Unless the stakes are high, football fans will not bother to watch a football match between two clubs they are not emotionally associated with.
What high stake matches are you aware of in Saudi league that would garner interest like El Classico, Manchester-Liverpool, Bayern-Dortmund, Inter-AC Milan, Juventus-Napoli, Benfica-Porto?
Heck, do they even have a Celtic-Rangers level of rivalry?
Also football content is already quite saturated for Saudi league to find a space right now.
These are just football-related reasons, then you have moral resistance, Islamophobia, Geo-political preferences etc. etc.