Tag Archives: PSG

Becoming PSG’s feeder club could prohibit Spurs qualifying for Europe

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I remember a few years ago, Tottenham and Real Madrid signed a “partnership agreement“. It basically consisted of Madrid signing Spurs best players (Gareth Bale, Luka Modric) and Tottenham getting Roberto Soldado.

There fans were hyped over the deal as they thought it would give them first option on Madrid’s talented young players. Taking them on loan and helping them develop. They were basically celebrating becoming Real Madrid’s feeder club.

And over 10-years on from that deal, their fans are still begging to become a feeder club to an elite European club.

Last week, a story broke that the chairman of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) Nasser Al-Khelaifi met with Tottenham’s Daniel Levy.

Off the back of the news, Spurs fans celebrated that they might be finally getting some of that Arab oil money which could bank roll them to success.

Having not won a league title in 62 years, the FA Cup in 32 years, and been trophyless for nearly 15 years, the excitment stank of desperation.

QSI are not looking to buy Tottenham. They already own an elite European club – PSG. they looking to buy or invest in minority stakes of further European clubs.

The Qatari’s are looking to create a similar structure to City Football Group, where the Abu Dhabi United Group own 12 clubs (either outright, majority shares or minority shares).

11 of those clubs are owned for the benefit of 1, Manchester City. All the money, all the income, goes towards financing Man City (with those clubs getting the benefit of loan players and shared coaching and scouting knowledge).

Chelsea’s owners have recently publically talked about growing a “multi-club” model and we recently discussed how the future could look.

If Europe’s elite continues to grow their network of clubs, you will end up with two very clear tiers.

Those at the top who the mutli-club model is there to benefit. And the network of clubs underneath who all act like as feeder clubs to their parent side.

So Spurs fans are basically celebrating the possiiblity of becoming PSG’s feeder team.

And this is where it gets fun.

Article 5 Integrity of the competition / multi-club ownership of UEFA’s Regulations dicusses the ownership of mutiple clubs.

One of the criteria for entry into a UEFA competition is that two clubs may not have shared ownership. Note that it does not just talk about majority ownership. It indicates any ownership.

This would mean if PSG bought a share in Tottenham, qualification for Europe would depend on firstly whoever qualifies for the higher tournament, secondly whoever finished highest in their league, and thirdly whichever side players in the highest ranking league.

This would mean that if both PSG and Tottenham qualified for the Champions League, whoever finished highest in their league would qualify for Europe. Most likely PSG.

Likewise if PSG qualified for the Champions League and Tottenham qualified for the Europa League, Spurs would be excluded from entering UEFA’s second competition.

The only way Tottenham would qualify for either of UEFA’s top two competitions would be if they finished either higher in the Premier League than they did in Ligue 1, or finished equal and England held a higher country coefficients (England top the club rankings, France are currently 5th).

There is good news for Spurs though. A route in Europe would open up if PSG finished in a Champions League position and Spurs qualified for the Europa Conference League. It being impossible for either team to play each other means there would be no conflict of interest.

But what about the Red Bull clubs? Both of them are in the Champions League you ask.

Well this was investigated by UEFA back in 2017, and it was established that whilst Red Bull own Leipzig, they were officially only a title sponsor of Salzburg.

Reb Bull also scaled back their managerial role in Salzburg and some executive board members shared by both clubs stood down. This was enough for Salzburg to prove to the courts that they were suitably independent from the Red Bull corporation, and Leipzig and themselves were sufficiently distinct from one another.

This allowed for both to be admitted to UEFA competitions.

Based on this, Tottenham could still enter the top two European competitions if they could prove that QSI had no influence over how theyw ere run. No board members, no shared scouting or coaching. No reciprocal loan deals. Basically none of the benefits of the multi-club model!

What I imagine QSI will be thinking is that they can utilise the money made by the Premier League TV deals to ensure that PSG remain with UEFA FFP.

Tottenham will be asset stripped, reducing the wage bill as much as logistically possible to remain in the Premier League and earn that TV money. They will then “pay” PSG for services (the aforemention shared coaching and scouting network) and overpay for loan players. This all generates income for PSG.

It is not too dissimilar with what the Pozzo family wanted to do with Watford – the hope was the Premier League money earned by Watford could be filtered through to Udinese to give them an advantage in Serie A. Watford are now in the Championship.

When the special relationship with Real Madrid was established, it was a one-way agreement. And it will be the same if QSI buy a stake in Tottenham.

Spurs will become PSG’s feeder club. Excluded from entering European competition. And their financies stripped to the benefit of the Paris side.

Enjoy guys….

Keenos

Guendouzi OUT, Rabiot, Nkunku + £42m IN

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Matteo Guendouzi has been a fantastic signing.

Signed for just £7million last summer, it is easy to forget that he is just 18-year-old and had just 8 Ligue 1 appearances to his name.

The original plan would probably have been to use him at 6th choice central midfielder, behind Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira, Aaron Ramsey, Mo Elneny and Ainsley Maitland-Niles. The World Cup and some injuries saw him got some early game time and he has not looked back.

His form has led to speculation that PSG are considering a bid this summer.

I have spoken before about how Liverpool have been able to build a title winning squad by buying low, selling high and reinvesting that in more players. Over the last 5 seasons, they have bought in over £200m more in player sales than Arsenal. This has enable them to sign Allisson, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.

When you compare that to Arsenal who have lost about £200m in player sales over that period due to contracts and underselling players – think Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck, Wojech Szczesny & Serge Gnabry – it leads us to the situation which we are now in. Liverpool 2nd, Arsenal 5th.

I have blogged previously that Arsenal will need to take a risk. Perhaps sell Lucas Torreira for big money and reinvest that on 3 or 4 players.

£60million for Matteo Guendouzi is huge money for a player with half a good season, and Arsenal should seriously consider it.

PSG have previously had problems filling their “home-grown” quota for the Champions League.

With the mega rich oil-financed club recruiting the worlds best players, this has often been at the detriment over French talent.

This has led to PSG signing the likes of Lassana Diarra, Hatem Ben Arfa, Benjamin Stambouli and Yohan Cabaye in recent years.

Despite France being current World Champions, very few of the national teams top players came from PSG.

With Adrien Rabiot, Christopher Nkunku and Lassana Diarra set to leave them in the summer, they will be left with just 4 senior French players in their squad.

This means they will need to go out to the market and recruit French, which in return will see premium price tags put on French players akin to what happens in England with English players.

Guendouzi would be an ideal signing for PSG.

He is one of the best young midfielders in world football. PSG would be signing him knowing that he has the potential to become a first team regular at the highest level – and not just to make up the numbers like Diarra, Ben Arfa et al.

He would be the perfect replacement for Rabiot.

Not only is Guendouzi French, he is Parisian.

Born in Poissy, an outer suburb of France, Guendouzi joined the PSG academy at the age of 6. He left Paris to join Lorient’s academy in 2014.

PSG fans will be wondering why they let such a talent out of their door at 15-years-old.

With the premium PSG will pay on French players, Guendouzi’s potential, and him being Paris-born. a fee in the region of £60million would not be too far from the truth – remember they spent £144million signing another Paris born teenager – Kylian Mbappe.

So should Arsenal take it? My heart might say no but my head says yes.

Let us paint a kick picture.

Arsenal sell Guendouzi for £60million. We then recruit two of the French central midfielders that PSG are set to lose this summer – Rabiot and Nkunku.

Rabiot is available on a free this summer and is a better player than Guendouzi.

They are very similar in the way they play (and look), but with Rabiot being 4-years Guendouzi’s senior, he is the more polished player. Closer to the finished article.

Guendouzi has the potential to be better than Rabiot, but we would be trading a player with a handful of appearances for someone with well over 200.

In January, Arsenal were also heavily linked with Christopher Nkunku for £18 million.

Were we to secure both Rabiot and Nkunku we would be improving our first XI and signing a talented youngster for the future. We would also be £42million up on the deal.

Sou would making the deal make sense?

https://twitter.com/KeenosAFC/status/1097415283352973314

Keenos

 

Cheap Arsenal tickets and Cologne still not sold out

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Numerous times in the past I have blogged about my dislike for Champions League football.

A mixture between having the same old opponents, the same predictable performances from Arsenal, my dislike for UEFA and their money making machine, and my total dislike for mid week football.

Whilst I understood the annoyance of many when we made the Europa League, both due to finishing below Spurs and the financial implications, I really was not that bothered. At least we are in a competition we might win.

Making the Europa League also saw my season ticket drop dramatically.

There are 11 of us going out to Germany for the match against Cologne – trains rather than flying – and it is going to be a quality 3 day bender with a good bunch of people. But I digress.

For years many of us have complained about match ticket prices. Season tickets are too expensive. Single match day tickets are too expensive – peaking at £126.It is alienating the normal fan. A dad can no longer take his 2 sons to a game without taking out a second mortgage.

Taking into account how many people complain online about ticket prices, it came as a shock that tickets for Cologne in the Europa League were still on sale.

 

Tickets are now on sale via the Friends and Family service to all valid members of the Arsenal membership using the Ticketfast print at home facility. This service allows Arsenal members to buy an additional 4 tickets on their membership account.

So a member can now buy an additional 4 tickets on their membership account – on top of the one they are already allowed to buy, making it 5 in total.

The reason I am surprised tickets are on sale is due to how cheap the tickets are:

Junior Gunners can but tickets for as low as £4.25. Adult tickets start at £15.50 and the most expensive tickets are £23.50. These are dirt cheap.

Even if your lads are not  Junior Gunner’s, a dad can take his 2 kids for around £75 max, if he go’s for the most expensive tickets.

What has happened to all those people who constantly moan about ticket prices? Why have they not picked up tickets for a Thursday night game?

Last season in the Champions League we played PSG at the group stages. My ticket for that game was £64. The most expensive tickets were £126. The game sold out in no time, and I was able to shift my ticket on the ticket exchange with no problem.

What I am getting it is how so many people seem to pay lip-service to ticket prices. They use it as an excuse not to go to games, but when tickets are more than reasonable – it is cheaper to go to Cologne v Arsenal than the next Leyton Orient home fixture in the Conference – they also do not go.

It is no surprise tickets are so high when people eat up the Cat A tickets within seconds, yet the Cat C and EL4GS tickets struggle to sell out.

My theory is ticket prices are not the problem. The problem is too many fans want to pick and choose what game to go to. They do not want to go to Stoke, Doncaster or Cologne. They only care about going to see Arsenal play Man U, Chelsea or Bayern Munich.

When I go to games, home and away, over land and sea, I only care about seeing Arsenal. I go for the Gunners. Sadly it seems many of our fickle fan base only want to go to the big games.

If you are one of those who moans all day on Twitter about ticket prices, and are not taking advantage of £15.50 ticket prices for Cologne, then you have no right to moan about the £126 tickets for when you want to see Arsenal play Man U.

Go for The Arsenal, not the opponents.

Keenos