Obscene wealth

[Buddha]

Manchester City have offered to make Joe Cole the Premier League’s best-paid player with a four-year contract worth nearly £40 million.
Joe Cole will become a free agent this summer after failing to agree a new deal at Chelsea and Manchester City have jumped to the top of the queue of clubs chasing him by tabling a remarkable £180,000-a-week deal.
Because they would sign Cole for nothing, City are understood to be prepared to build his real transfer
market value of about £10m into his wages, which would work out at more than £9m a year.
That will blow away interest from their neighbours Manchester United, whom they meet today at Eastlands in the most important Manchester derby for 42 years.
City are confident of securing fourth place and qualification for the Champions League next season and that could be the clincher for Cole, who has failed to command a regular place at Chelsea since returning from injury.
Cole, 28, has yet to make up his mind, but City’s offer is another statement of their intent to buy big again this summer ready for a Premier League title push and their first Champions League venture – providing they do not blow it in their final five games.
City boss Roberto Mancini made it clear yesterday he wants to establish the club at the top of the European game. And he believes United and the other Premier League big guns are running scared of their financial muscle.
“A lot of players could come here next season if we play in the Champions League,†he said. “I think Manchester City can be a very important team in the future.
“We could become a bigger threat than Chelsea. We work for this because we want to be like them or, if possible, even better. I would like to think we can become one of Europe’s top clubs next season.â€

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted today’s derby is the most significant of his 23 years in charge of United, then shuddered at the financial resources neighbours City have at their disposal thanks to oil-rich Abu Dhabi owner Sheikh Mansour.
“They have such an amazing amount of buying power,†he said. “They can go and buy 10 players, another team. If they qualify for the Champions League, you can rest assured they will buy players.
“I don’t think we will be in competition with City for players because they will be after different types of players.
“Nobody knows what their plans are but the point is they have a buying power that is different from all the other clubs.â€
While City have set their sights on signing Cole, United’s veteran midfielder Paul Scholes has signed a one-year extension to his contract at Old Trafford.

I'd be so conflicted if we were bought out by new owners with similar unlimited buying power. We'd be successful no doubt, but some cost to the soul of the club.

 

[Rosco]

Madness.

And the owner had the cheek to say a salary cap was necessary

 

[Buddha]

[quote author=Rosco link=topic=39837.msg1089104#msg1089104 date=1271499265]
Madness.

And the owner had the cheek to say a salary cap was necessary
[/quote]

Did he really Ross? What a twat.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them spend another 150m this summer plus obscene wages. If they qualify for Champions league football they could attract the worlds best available players and be a real force next year.

Thing is, we need serious wealth to compete with Chelsea/City etc (in the absence of a Wenger in charge), and yet I almost couldn't think of anything worse than Liverpool becoming another Chelsea or City.

 

[the count]

If the owners continue to throw endless wads of cash at the team the I think Man City will eventually become premiership champions

 

[Rosco]

Both City's owner and Abramovich have said they think it is necessary, which is quite ironic. I presume it's because they have no leverage when it comes to negotiating with players.

I still don't think they'll get the best players, they'll get good ones, probably better than they have but who are still massively overpriced. I wonder what their plan is for dealing with the impending UEFA budgetary guidelines ? (And I really want to see the details of them)

It might be that in 2012 a lot of teams need to slash wage bills in order to meet the conditions, if that's the case we might be better off taking the long term view and resist the temptation to spend everything we have, instead get our wage bill down, giving ourselves the flexibility to take some players off those teams that need to cut back.

 

[FoxForceFive]

[quote author=Rosco link=topic=39837.msg1089112#msg1089112 date=1271500383]
Both City's owner and Abramovich have said they think it is necessary, which is quite ironic. I presume it's because they have no leverage when it comes to negotiating with players.

I still don't think they'll get the best players, they'll get good ones, probably better than they have but who are still massively overpriced. I wonder what their plan is for dealing with the impending UEFA budgetary guidelines ? (And I really want to see the details of them)

It might be that in 2012 a lot of teams need to slash wage bills in order to meet the conditions, if that's the case we might be better off taking the long term view and resist the temptation to spend everything we have, instead get our wage bill down, giving ourselves the flexibility to take some players off those teams that need to cut back.
[/quote]

Which is exaclty what Wenger is planning to do.

 

[Buddha]

[quote author=Rosco link=topic=39837.msg1089112#msg1089112 date=1271500383]
Both City's owner and Abramovich have said they think it is necessary, which is quite ironic. I presume it's because they have no leverage when it comes to negotiating with players.

I still don't think they'll get the best players, they'll get good ones, probably better than they have but who are still massively overpriced. I wonder what their plan is for dealing with the impending UEFA budgetary guidelines ? (And I really want to see the details of them)

It might be that in 2012 a lot of teams need to slash wage bills in order to meet the conditions, if that's the case we might be better off taking the long term view and resist the temptation to spend everything we have, instead get our wage bill down, giving ourselves the flexibility to take some players off those teams that need to cut back.


[/quote]

When are the UEFA guidelines due for release Ross?

 

[spider-Neil]

uefa linking spending to turnover can't come soon enough

 

[Rosco]

I have no idea Buddha.

They seem to have been discussed at the top level and agreed the broad nature of the rules, I checked earlier in the week to see if the specific details were released and I wasn't able to find them (even though I remember reading some detail previsously). I think the introduction is to be gentle enough in 2012 but by 2015 the full extent of the rules will be in force.

 

[Buddha]

[quote author=Rosco link=topic=39837.msg1089127#msg1089127 date=1271502909]
I have no idea Buddha.

They seem to have been discussed at the top level and agreed the broad nature of the rules, I checked earlier in the week to see if the specific details were released and I wasn't able to find them (even though I remember reading some detail previsously). I think the introduction is to be gentle enough in 2012 but by 2015 the full extent of the rules will be in force.
[/quote]

And this is definitely happening? I haven't had time to keep up with the news for ages now, but had thought that this was still at discussion stage.

If it's been passed as new UEFA rules to come into place then it can only be god news for the likes of us and Arsenal, no? Our recent success in hugely improving our commercial revenues mean we'll be in a much stronger position turnover wise, but a new stadium is even more paramount than ever. I'm assuming the new rules link spending to overall revenues?

 

[Rosco]

Reuters reports that the 93 clubs from 53 countries who met in Manchester for the Soccerex business convention have agreed on the ground rules for the implementation of UEFAs Financial Fair Play rules. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the chairman of the European Club Association (ECA) and chief executive of Bayern Munich, said the full implementation of the rules has been moved to 2015 and that the 2012 to 2015 period will serve as a transition phase. ECA has insisted that all clubs and not just the clubs with turnover over EUR 50 million should be subjected to the rules, as originally proposed by UEFA. This push for uniform regulations is seen as a more sustainable model in the long run.

The proposals, which are unanimously supported, indicate that all clubs must break-even. This will be monitored over a three year period by UEFA and the club should be self-sustaining rather than dependent on cash infusions from a wealthy owner. Moreover, clubs should not owe each other and payments and they will not be allowed to play in Europe if the players or staff have not been paid. Among other proposals discussed was keeping the squad size at 25 players while having unlimited players in the under-21 teams at both national and European levels. The clubs have also taken on the task of tackling agent payments.

Interestingly, Manchester United chief executive and an ECA board member David Gill said that his club will be in compliance with all the new regulations. "We have seen what the proposals are and we would meet the financial break even rules," he said. "We as Manchester United have always been run professionally and will continue to be run professionally."

 

[Buddha]

Wow that's unambiguous for a change from UEFA.

With that in mind, I think history might be kinder to our American owners than present sentiment of fans. Should we be bought out now by owners who wipe the current debt (before potentially taking stadium-linked debt on), the often overlooked fact that they've put a management team in place that has transformed the clubs future commercial revenue streams, might be more apparent. In that area, we're certainly in rude health going into the UEFA reforms.

Cheers for that Ross.

 

[vantage]

As an aside, I read somewhere this week that Madrid had already recouped all of Gayboys £80m fee in shirt sales. With support like that I s'pose both them and Barca wil be able to carry on splashing the cash.

I guess it helps that in Spain most people have their own local team and either Barca or Madrid.

 

[Rosco]

[quote author=vantage link=topic=39837.msg1089235#msg1089235 date=1271522641]
As an aside, I read somewhere this week that Madrid had already recouped all of Gayboys £80m fee in shirt sales. With support like that I s'pose both them and Barca wil be able to carry on splashing the cash.

I guess it helps that in Spain most people have their own local team and either Barca or Madrid.
[/quote]

I'd be willing to bet it was TV revenue and not shirt sales.

Nobody makes that much from shirt sales, Perez himself admitted that recently.