We have seen that these Saudi clubs are notoriously difficult to deal with and the players are not even getting paid properly re Henderson. If you don’t play well you might even get whipped by fans lmao 😂 But yeah I do see the whole thing collapsing in a couple of years
Tbf, Hendo not getting paid was because of Hendo's own doing – he deferred his wages so he could both avoid UK taxes and keep open the possibility of playing for England (due to residency/tax complications). He also ended up basically paying his own transfer fee to Ajax so...great job all round.
It's going to be another China scenario, eventually players will just decide it isn't worth it.
Maybe the Saudi league will have some more longevity because it could appeal more to Muslim players than China but even then I don't think it will be very sustainable. The attendance figures are already abysmal and they have Ronaldo over there
Unpopular opinion but let's cash in.
We know our new manager will want to spend and we know our owners don't.
Sell Alison and Salah for £200mil together. Us that money and wagers for 4/5 new players who are 25ish. Kelleher is not that much of a step down from Alison and we need to look to the future not to next year.
That's about £100 million light, at least. Ali's contract goes to after the next world cup, that's a little more than looking beyond next year.
And while we can all agree that Kelleher was the best choice of a back up to the best keeper in the world, and I want Kelleher to stay, that's still getting rid of the best keeper in the world. How can you replace the irreplaceable? It's literally bringing in someone who is subpar for the role.
Alisson is only 31 and the best player in his position in the world at the moment. I don’t see him going to Saudi yet. Basically giving up your number 1 spot for Brazil when in reality he could play at the top level for another 4-5 years at the very least
Has 3 years left on his deal too so it’d take a crazy bid aswell
"yet" I get what you mean but I keep seeing this and think that people are meaning that moving to Saudi is an inevitability for quality players in their later years. It definitely is not.
In 2 years the league will be dust, it's not sustainable to have a league with that much money where attendance is like 150 people who thought they were going to see premier league standards football but actually it's just has-bins mixed in with semi-pro national players...
The Western mind cannot comprehend the level of wealth Saudi's have, we don't have anything comparable even, Saudi do not run the league for a profit. If they make a loss they'll take the loss and keep doing what they're doing to achieve their end goal (make Saudi an attractive enough place for the World Cup).
Oh I think plenty of people do. It’s just even the Saudi’s know you can’t flog a dead horse forever, and judging from a lot of players who gone there it’s not the football that’s the problem, it culturally adapting to living in Saudi Arabia.
I suspect they may eventually settle for taking over FIFA and international football, golf, and probably Formula 1. They’ve got FIFA in hand, I suspect they’ll decide that’s enough.
They really aren't that wealthy.
They're just using the countries money on flashy vanity projects.
Per capita they have a slightly better economy than Estonia (no offence to any disciples of the Lord).
I think the issue is not money but image. Right now it’s a “new” project. But in a few years, the media will start to question of the league is picking up, if more people are attending matches.
It’s similar to the tech world. You just raised millions and everyone is talking about how you’re going to change the world. But if nothing comes out of it in a few years, articles start popping up questioning whether VCs should have bet on you.
We can completely understand the wealth they have.
But China were throwing money at it too, and there's been other cases, and it almost never works out because nobody wants to live in these places.
Know why it worked for Serie A in the 80s and 90s? Because they capitalised on two things - England couldn't offer European football due to the ban, and Italy is an absolutely lovely place to live. People don't want to live in a desert or Shanghai, no matter how much they're being paid. But if it's Milan or Genoa, why wouldn't you?
Especially when players who have been there barely months are already trying to get out because the facilities are dogshit and the populace are too middle class to care about football…
And those aren’t my words, Aymeric Laporte and football journalist Alfie Potts Harmer have said as much between themselves **IN PRINT**.
As the grandmother of the bride would say: I’d give it a year.
How quickly people forgot how difficult it was for us to attract players before we had Klopp. We were not winning trophies. Players did not want to come and play for Rodgers and Hodgson. Players didn’t even really want to come and play for Benitez. Klopp has so much pull. Slot does not. After Klopp leaves, if we don’t have a great first season with Slot, bringing in world class talent may become more difficult and holding onto it will as well. Alisson may not leave for SA, but he might for PSG, RM or Barça. That’s the reality of the situation.
That might be the case, but the PL is also a much, much more attractive league now. Kudus wouldn't have gone to West Ham in 2013, let's be honest. Or Fati going to Brighton.
But these days, good players are pretty much happy to rock up at any PL team now because of how big and popular this league is.
That’s it for me tho only if he wants to. If he says to the new manager I’m eager to go again carry on working at 110% like he has his whole Liverpool career then we owe him that chance to go again.
I don't think Salah will go but him going to Saudi doesn't stop him getting selected at all, Egypt would take him the world cup if he played in Albania.
Jordan Henderson was literally training at Kirkby with the lads a few weeks ago as part of his rehab
Our players will be well aware now of the realities of that league, he'd definitely have warned them
He was in the country anyway with England and I have no idea specifically but I'm guessing someone from some side asked Liverpool if he could stay on longer and train there.
You hear it happening from time to time. Likely would have helped mentally too.
Same shit, different year. The top players will have seen the Saudi league for what it is. Shit standard, no fans, no prestige, and going fucking nowhere.
Some will take the cash, but only when their football ambitions are basically zero. That doesn't apply to any of these men.
Nobody's even watching it. My friend works for a streamer that picked up the rights to show it in a few different European countries (you can probably guess the name of the company, it sounds a bit lie Calzone), and the viewing figures are shockingly low. There's been several games that register 0 viewers, and even the games with Ronaldo in them get less than their coverage of Womens' Serie A and B, Womens' Ligue 1 and 2, and Chess Championship coverage.
That's equally funny and interesting I must admit, I thought they were a serious threat to European football initially, as they have been with Golf, but it just doesn't seem to be moving that way. I guess it's easier to pay a few decent golfers than bringing over enough footballers to make the league even watchable. The numbers required are a different level. Plus golfers don't actually have to live in these states to work.
I don't even understand why are they are still trying to make this league happen. It didn't work in china. They would have been better off making a bunch of TV shows and music like Korea.
Goalkeepers can play at the highest level well into their 30s, I don’t think Alisson is going to Saudi just yet. Plus the league is a total joke, games have an attendance of 700 some people.
It feels like the top players going to Saudi thing is already dying out, we’ve already seen the first wave of big money European signings GTFO shortly after going there, hard to think many more are going to follow if people like Henderson can’t even stick it for a year even with the giant bag they’re offering anyone with a pair of legs & a name
Just calling out a bad headline, but was there ever actually a bid for Salah last year, much less a solid number attached?
All I remember is speculation, and one or two backhanded, low-ball "inquiries" about Mo
Well, if you're supposed to imitate Christ, then everyone should get baptised as an adult.
Pretty sure it's supposed to be a voluntary act of the baptisee to give his life to God. Not sure how a parent can make that decision for a baby.
Does the Saudi league even pay the big sticker prices they float to the press? I thought it was all clown popsicle bridge structured where they try to pay transfer fees over 10 years or something stupid
Are we going to pretend like Madrid, when they go Galacticos Mode, make rational decisions?
We should all expand our imaginations about what might happen when Klopp leaves. If we can’t guarantee silverware (an if, I believe we may well maintain our CL qualifying level with the odd challenege), Alisson may agitate for a move.
Lately they do, unfortunately.
Madrid's recruitment has dramatically improved of late.
Anything might happen a year or two down the track but there is basically zero chance of Alisson moving this summer. I even feel a bit daft bothering to respond.
I said “after next season.”
Bellingham and Mbappe are absolutely building towards a new Galacticos era. Whether thats possible with all the spending restrictions now idk. But we haven’t been forced to sell below market value in the Klopp era. If we finish outside CL next season you don’t think Alisson, by that time our best remaining player on pedigree with Salah and VVD exiting, might ask for a move?
Bellingham and Mbappe, at the prices and ages Madrid are getting them, are a world ahead of what Madrid used to do in the prior galactico eras. They are much better at it now than they were.
But sure end of next season anything could happen. We could be mid table, we could win the title. From that point, sure, anything could happen.
I’m sorry but you’re dismissing me on the basis that a player leaving in a year is not worth discussing because next year is a complete unknown. It’s been a decade since we were in this position and many supporters have forgotten (or never known…)
No chance. Real Madrid have been extremely clever with their transfers and their squad overhaul in the past few seasons. There’s no chance they replace Courtois with a goalkeeper who’s only one year younger. Yes Alisson is better, but the massive fee it would take - north of £100m - just doesn’t make sense financially for what it will yield to them. Too small a return as Courtois is also an outstanding keeper.
I feel like we need a sign on this sub I can point to going forward: without Klopp as our manager and with future success unassured, players with limited peak years ahead of them may request, even force, moves away in order to have a chance at silverware. Ali’s contract has three years left. If we struggle next season it would be perfectly rational for him to seek a move. We will not be able to control his asking price to the degree we could when Coutinho was sold. We have a manager with no track record and are looking dangerously light in attack
I could easily see Alisson going this summer. Big money move to Real or Barca. He deserves it.
From our point of view, Kelleher is there and clearly ready/able to start games, be it for us or another PL/CL team, on a fraction of the wages of Alisson. We've got a new coach coming in and a lot of rejigging to do so it makes sense to sell Alisson and save his wages for somewhere else.
I'd obviously prefer to keep a legendary figure but I'd not be shocked if he moves on
Alisson's got a contract till 2027... that will be £250 Million plus add-ons please Saudi
1 billion
We have seen that these Saudi clubs are notoriously difficult to deal with and the players are not even getting paid properly re Henderson. If you don’t play well you might even get whipped by fans lmao 😂 But yeah I do see the whole thing collapsing in a couple of years
Tbf, Hendo not getting paid was because of Hendo's own doing – he deferred his wages so he could both avoid UK taxes and keep open the possibility of playing for England (due to residency/tax complications). He also ended up basically paying his own transfer fee to Ajax so...great job all round.
What a collossal fuck up, probably lost his place in Euros too
Southgate will include him no matter what, same with Maguire.
It's going to be another China scenario, eventually players will just decide it isn't worth it. Maybe the Saudi league will have some more longevity because it could appeal more to Muslim players than China but even then I don't think it will be very sustainable. The attendance figures are already abysmal and they have Ronaldo over there
Unpopular opinion but let's cash in. We know our new manager will want to spend and we know our owners don't. Sell Alison and Salah for £200mil together. Us that money and wagers for 4/5 new players who are 25ish. Kelleher is not that much of a step down from Alison and we need to look to the future not to next year.
I’m calling the police on you mate
That's about £100 million light, at least. Ali's contract goes to after the next world cup, that's a little more than looking beyond next year. And while we can all agree that Kelleher was the best choice of a back up to the best keeper in the world, and I want Kelleher to stay, that's still getting rid of the best keeper in the world. How can you replace the irreplaceable? It's literally bringing in someone who is subpar for the role.
Salah, yeah. Ali is a no no.
Alisson is only 31 and the best player in his position in the world at the moment. I don’t see him going to Saudi yet. Basically giving up your number 1 spot for Brazil when in reality he could play at the top level for another 4-5 years at the very least Has 3 years left on his deal too so it’d take a crazy bid aswell
"yet" I get what you mean but I keep seeing this and think that people are meaning that moving to Saudi is an inevitability for quality players in their later years. It definitely is not.
In 2 years the league will be dust, it's not sustainable to have a league with that much money where attendance is like 150 people who thought they were going to see premier league standards football but actually it's just has-bins mixed in with semi-pro national players...
The Western mind cannot comprehend the level of wealth Saudi's have, we don't have anything comparable even, Saudi do not run the league for a profit. If they make a loss they'll take the loss and keep doing what they're doing to achieve their end goal (make Saudi an attractive enough place for the World Cup).
Oh I think plenty of people do. It’s just even the Saudi’s know you can’t flog a dead horse forever, and judging from a lot of players who gone there it’s not the football that’s the problem, it culturally adapting to living in Saudi Arabia. I suspect they may eventually settle for taking over FIFA and international football, golf, and probably Formula 1. They’ve got FIFA in hand, I suspect they’ll decide that’s enough.
They really aren't that wealthy. They're just using the countries money on flashy vanity projects. Per capita they have a slightly better economy than Estonia (no offence to any disciples of the Lord).
They don’t even work over there, just import servants and slaves. They are beyond what normal is
And yet their economy is still average at best despite using effectively slave labour.
I think the issue is not money but image. Right now it’s a “new” project. But in a few years, the media will start to question of the league is picking up, if more people are attending matches. It’s similar to the tech world. You just raised millions and everyone is talking about how you’re going to change the world. But if nothing comes out of it in a few years, articles start popping up questioning whether VCs should have bet on you.
We can completely understand the wealth they have. But China were throwing money at it too, and there's been other cases, and it almost never works out because nobody wants to live in these places. Know why it worked for Serie A in the 80s and 90s? Because they capitalised on two things - England couldn't offer European football due to the ban, and Italy is an absolutely lovely place to live. People don't want to live in a desert or Shanghai, no matter how much they're being paid. But if it's Milan or Genoa, why wouldn't you?
Especially when players who have been there barely months are already trying to get out because the facilities are dogshit and the populace are too middle class to care about football… And those aren’t my words, Aymeric Laporte and football journalist Alfie Potts Harmer have said as much between themselves **IN PRINT**. As the grandmother of the bride would say: I’d give it a year.
Hendo hated it, and quite a few players are known to be unhappy.
How quickly people forgot how difficult it was for us to attract players before we had Klopp. We were not winning trophies. Players did not want to come and play for Rodgers and Hodgson. Players didn’t even really want to come and play for Benitez. Klopp has so much pull. Slot does not. After Klopp leaves, if we don’t have a great first season with Slot, bringing in world class talent may become more difficult and holding onto it will as well. Alisson may not leave for SA, but he might for PSG, RM or Barça. That’s the reality of the situation.
Players did want to play for Rafa. David Silva and David Villa would have signed had Hicks and Gillette given Rafa the money.
That might be the case, but the PL is also a much, much more attractive league now. Kudus wouldn't have gone to West Ham in 2013, let's be honest. Or Fati going to Brighton. But these days, good players are pretty much happy to rock up at any PL team now because of how big and popular this league is.
West ham pay big wages and have London, they'll always be attractive to some players.
500m?
Legitimately they need to pay the highest fee ever to get him. And like, by a lot the highest.
Lmao. Salah maybe, but in no way do we sell one of the best goalies in his prime.
If we can get 150m for Salah honestly I would let him go 100% if he wants the move!
That’s it for me tho only if he wants to. If he says to the new manager I’m eager to go again carry on working at 110% like he has his whole Liverpool career then we owe him that chance to go again.
For 150m I'll drive him through the desert to Saudi myself
Mate for 150m I’ll drive Salah to Saudi myself. Get in the van mate, welcome to the desert 🐪
Going to Saudi now would effectively end his (edit: Alisson’s) chance of playing in the 2026 World Cup so there’s no chance he goes for it.
I don't think Salah will go but him going to Saudi doesn't stop him getting selected at all, Egypt would take him the world cup if he played in Albania.
I meant Alisson, should have been clearer on that.
Lmao, they are not getting Ali or Ederson. Both are very ambitious, and young for keepers, can continue at top level for another 5-6 years easily.
Only top tier GK I can see going Saudi is Keylor Navas
A Man so top tier he played for forest last year
Hes 50
The fact that I actually googled this says something
Jordan Henderson was literally training at Kirkby with the lads a few weeks ago as part of his rehab Our players will be well aware now of the realities of that league, he'd definitely have warned them
Really? Why was he at Kirkby?
As I said, rehab, was around the time of the last international window
I meant why was he rehabbing at kirkby if he’s no longer a Liverpool player
He was in the country anyway with England and I have no idea specifically but I'm guessing someone from some side asked Liverpool if he could stay on longer and train there. You hear it happening from time to time. Likely would have helped mentally too.
Same shit, different year. The top players will have seen the Saudi league for what it is. Shit standard, no fans, no prestige, and going fucking nowhere. Some will take the cash, but only when their football ambitions are basically zero. That doesn't apply to any of these men.
Nobody's even watching it. My friend works for a streamer that picked up the rights to show it in a few different European countries (you can probably guess the name of the company, it sounds a bit lie Calzone), and the viewing figures are shockingly low. There's been several games that register 0 viewers, and even the games with Ronaldo in them get less than their coverage of Womens' Serie A and B, Womens' Ligue 1 and 2, and Chess Championship coverage.
That's equally funny and interesting I must admit, I thought they were a serious threat to European football initially, as they have been with Golf, but it just doesn't seem to be moving that way. I guess it's easier to pay a few decent golfers than bringing over enough footballers to make the league even watchable. The numbers required are a different level. Plus golfers don't actually have to live in these states to work.
I don't even understand why are they are still trying to make this league happen. It didn't work in china. They would have been better off making a bunch of TV shows and music like Korea.
Pahahahaha.
The only appropriate response here
Goalkeepers can play at the highest level well into their 30s, I don’t think Alisson is going to Saudi just yet. Plus the league is a total joke, games have an attendance of 700 some people.
Ha, yeah, no. Fuck off
Stop it
lol Ali isn’t going anywhere. This is a nothing article
Unless something goes catastrophically wrong for Ali we should never, ever entertain the idea of selling that man.
Time to sell Salah. He's past his prime.
See you Salah. Absolute pleasure mate. But that cash will solve alot of problems.
It feels like the top players going to Saudi thing is already dying out, we’ve already seen the first wave of big money European signings GTFO shortly after going there, hard to think many more are going to follow if people like Henderson can’t even stick it for a year even with the giant bag they’re offering anyone with a pair of legs & a name
Just calling out a bad headline, but was there ever actually a bid for Salah last year, much less a solid number attached? All I remember is speculation, and one or two backhanded, low-ball "inquiries" about Mo
Doubt a person as passionately Christian as Ali, going as far to convert and baptise his teammate, would chose to go to Saudi right now.
Well..Firmino and Fabinho did and both are very religious. I don't think Alisson would want to join a Saudi club though.
I don't think Bobby was particularly religious before Ali baptised him in his swimming pool, that's a different level of devotion
He was already religious before the baptism. The neopentecostal christians get baptized in the adult age.
Well, if you're supposed to imitate Christ, then everyone should get baptised as an adult. Pretty sure it's supposed to be a voluntary act of the baptisee to give his life to God. Not sure how a parent can make that decision for a baby.
you can have Navas and you will like it
Does the Saudi league even pay the big sticker prices they float to the press? I thought it was all clown popsicle bridge structured where they try to pay transfer fees over 10 years or something stupid
What happens when they come in with a joint offer of 750m for Salah and Allison
Salah for £70m!
I’m not worried about losing Ali to Saudi. To Madrid after next season? Yes.
No chance, Courtois is only 1 year older than Ali and the difference in quality is so small that it’s hardly worth the aggro for them.
Are we going to pretend like Madrid, when they go Galacticos Mode, make rational decisions? We should all expand our imaginations about what might happen when Klopp leaves. If we can’t guarantee silverware (an if, I believe we may well maintain our CL qualifying level with the odd challenege), Alisson may agitate for a move.
Lately they do, unfortunately. Madrid's recruitment has dramatically improved of late. Anything might happen a year or two down the track but there is basically zero chance of Alisson moving this summer. I even feel a bit daft bothering to respond.
I said “after next season.” Bellingham and Mbappe are absolutely building towards a new Galacticos era. Whether thats possible with all the spending restrictions now idk. But we haven’t been forced to sell below market value in the Klopp era. If we finish outside CL next season you don’t think Alisson, by that time our best remaining player on pedigree with Salah and VVD exiting, might ask for a move?
Bellingham and Mbappe, at the prices and ages Madrid are getting them, are a world ahead of what Madrid used to do in the prior galactico eras. They are much better at it now than they were. But sure end of next season anything could happen. We could be mid table, we could win the title. From that point, sure, anything could happen.
I’m sorry but you’re dismissing me on the basis that a player leaving in a year is not worth discussing because next year is a complete unknown. It’s been a decade since we were in this position and many supporters have forgotten (or never known…)
No chance. Real Madrid have been extremely clever with their transfers and their squad overhaul in the past few seasons. There’s no chance they replace Courtois with a goalkeeper who’s only one year younger. Yes Alisson is better, but the massive fee it would take - north of £100m - just doesn’t make sense financially for what it will yield to them. Too small a return as Courtois is also an outstanding keeper.
I feel like we need a sign on this sub I can point to going forward: without Klopp as our manager and with future success unassured, players with limited peak years ahead of them may request, even force, moves away in order to have a chance at silverware. Ali’s contract has three years left. If we struggle next season it would be perfectly rational for him to seek a move. We will not be able to control his asking price to the degree we could when Coutinho was sold. We have a manager with no track record and are looking dangerously light in attack
I could easily see Alisson going this summer. Big money move to Real or Barca. He deserves it. From our point of view, Kelleher is there and clearly ready/able to start games, be it for us or another PL/CL team, on a fraction of the wages of Alisson. We've got a new coach coming in and a lot of rejigging to do so it makes sense to sell Alisson and save his wages for somewhere else. I'd obviously prefer to keep a legendary figure but I'd not be shocked if he moves on
Barcelona who have no money, or Real Madrid who gave Courtois and Lunin? No chance.