French market there to be tapped?

[King Binny]

The Premier League's French Foreign Legion is likely to grow again in the summer.

The president of the French League has warned of a talent drain from clubs playing in Ligue 1 after the French government refused to exempt footballers from their new 75 per cent tax on annual earnings above €1million (£848,862).

Around 100 top players will be affected by the new law, which has been introduced by Socialist president Francois Hollande.

Movie actor Gerard Depardieu has already taken a Russian passport and moved to neighbouring Belgium in protest over the hike in the top rate of tax.

And French League grande fromage Frederic Thiriez said: "We are strangling the clubs.

"With this crazy cost, France is going to lose its best players, our clubs will see their competivity in Europe, nose-dive and the state will lose its best taxpayers. It is a lose-lose scenario."

France has more players in the Premier League than any other nation apart from England.

Newcastle signed five French players in the January transfer window alone, including midfielder Moussa Sissoko.

After the government failed to bring in the new top rate for individuals, French companies will now have to pay the 75 per cent rate as a business cost (30 per cent up to €1m then an additional 45 per cent after).

So if a player earns Euro 1.8m a season, his club will have to pay an extra €500,000.

Already, for a gr oss salary of €1.8m, a player in France will take home €710,000 net, against €886,000 in England - a 25% difference.

Lille president Michel Seydoux added: "It will start a vicious circle - the best players will go abroad, the stadiums will empty and the television companies will stop paying for a show which will no longer be worth much."

 

[Red Astaire]

Cool - Lets tap up Thiago Silva and Alex - Both would improve us immeasurably.

 

[SummerOnions]

Maybe French clubs could start to improve their kids better on lower wages and start to see a good French national team

 

[Asbo]

Fuck me, we gonna end up having french football teams blocking the docks stopping people entering the country

 

[King Binny]

Interesting that the latest 2 names linked with us are both from Ligue 1 - Aymen Abdennour (Toulouse) and Lucas Digne (Lille).

 

[RedStar]

Interesting that Newcastle were widely credited with exploiting the French market over the last couple of transfer windows, however it appears that most of their 'bargains' were in fact shite players who are not good enough for a team in the top half of the premier league.

There are obviously some quality players in France, but as in most leagues they will be reasonably well known and predominantly playing for the bigger clubs. This idea that there are tons of great players in France to be picked up on the cheap is absolute bollox. If the French league was stacked with quality why do their teams never make a dent in any of the European cups

 

[Hansern]

Ben Arfa, Debuchy, Cabaye and Sissoko arent shite though.

 

[cloggypop]

Probably be a bad idea to buy 6 at once as it seems to divide the players a little.

 

[RedStar]

Ben Arfa, Debuchy, Cabaye and Sissoko arent shite though.

Cabaye and Ben Arfa haven't done much this season, I would take Sissoko off them but thats about it i dont think the others are better than what we have

 

[Glen C]

Cabaye and Ben Arfa haven't done much this season, I would take Sissoko off them but thats about it i dont think the others are better than what we have

Ben Arfa and Cabaye have been injured a lot this season. I'd have cabaye and sissoko, but ben arfa for all his good attacking talents seems very reluctant to track back.

 

[gene hughes]

He's a dick

 

[Oncy]

He IS a dick.

He also used to play Ziggy in Grange hill.