17 Feb 2019 00:20:39
Any of the eds interested in doing a bit of journalism for this guy, he pays well but might take your life if you critise him or his country
What a nice man.
Do we need his money, aren't the glaziers bad enough, united as a club can generate a lot of money on its own, just need a few players that will play for the shirt.
17 Feb 2019 01:38:47
Hopefully not the Saudi’s.
17 Feb 2019 09:52:56
Yes the club generates its own money. And most of it goes on dent that was created by the Americans. Who have never put in a penny if their own money. Take out millions every year. Ran down the squad by not replacing world class players as they left or aged. Appointed a turnip who comes out with quotes like "it doesn't matter what we do on the pitch it doesn't affect the commercial side of the business". We're not a football club were a business club. We are years behind our rivals and its going to take a huge cash injection to catch up. Does anyone really expect that to happen this summer? Spend our own money on the signings we need to really challenge? Or will they throw a few quid at a manager and be happy to limp to 4th again. When did we become arsenal happy to settle for that. The Saudis are far from perfect. But are they any worse than the Qataris or Emiratis who you never hear anything bad said about by the media. Or is it because its now United who might bought by one of these rich arab families now its suddenly a bad thing. They're scared of United having resources like City. Smell the agenda.
17 Feb 2019 09:58:29
Leahy.
You ask do we need the money?
Its got nothing to do with that. Its not our club.
The glazers can sell to whom ever they want as long as the fit the criteria for owners as set out by the epl and uefa.
Great business by the glazers if they can return that reported 2.2bn profit.
Personally i would rather we had different owners but its not my choice to make on who owns the club.
Same as its not my choice who the manager or players are.
I won't make any difference to me personally who owns the club. But its not ideal to have owners with human rights records like the saudi royal family.
But i use their fuel i buy their goods i travel in an aeroplane monthly that is fuelled by them we all do. The fact is we don't have to do any of those things but we choose to because it means we can get to work to feed our families or go on holidays etc.
I don't see the difference between going on holiday and using their goods and going to support a team that they own.
17 Feb 2019 10:19:01
Ken, there is a massive difference between doing something onerous so you can feed your family and supporting a football team. We have little choice, the way the world is set up, but to use their fuel. We have a very real and easy choice simply to not to support a club run by despots and murderers.
17 Feb 2019 10:20:01
There's worse possible owners out there. Not excusing the Saudis they have a bad record. But how about a Russian with links to the mafia and the Russian state who also aren't against murdering reporters and dissidents. Or a regime hosting a world cup and building stadiums using slave labour. Or the Chinese who built up business using cheap labour and with ties to a regime that's murdered millions. Because they're the only other possibles out there.
17 Feb 2019 11:32:06
Sorry guys but to me it is important who owns our club. I may not like how the Glazers leveraged the club but to the best of my knowledge they do not have blood on their hands. Do we really want to be owned by any regime which murders its opponents, stifles criticism of it, denies women many basic rights and funds terrorists? Our soldiers and citizens right here in this country have been bombed and killed because of funding by such regimes. It sickens me that so many supporters will sell their soul for the sake of a trophy. Since when did a piece of metal or silver matter more than a person's life. The fact that Fifa sold out to the Qataris and gave them the world cup and that people have died building the stadia in Qatar is desperately sad. The world cup there will be the biggest ego trip ever seen. When do we take a stand against blood money. Please do not argue that as City and Barcelona have owners from that region that it is OK. It is not.
17 Feb 2019 12:19:34
There are few if any people wealthy enough to buy our club, who have earned that wealth without exploiting someone or doing some kind of a dodgy deal here or there.
It's as simple as that. You get yourself in a right mess if you start trying work out which type of immortality is better or worse than another. Is slave labour better than murder? It's ridiculous.
That being said, if given the choice I really would want to distance ourselves as much as possible from the Saudi regime which is appalling at best. Them buying our club is more about using us as a screen to their less palatable deeds. Give them a positive public presence in the west.
I would be deeply uncomfortable with that. Not that I will have any choice in the matter. If they offer the money the Glazers want then they will be our owners. The only saving grace might be that they might run the club better in terms of the football side of things.
However, that is a huge gamble which seems loaded against us when considering who we would be getting into bed with in the off chance that they might run the club better.
{Ed002's Note - At least MU would be able to deal with any opposition like Jamal Khashoggi.}
17 Feb 2019 12:40:23
We'll have to start signing players like Ramos to take out opposition players.
17 Feb 2019 12:42:34
Shappy its not a case of getting into bed with them
If they buy the club yiu have a straight choice. Continue to support or stop.
I would continue to support and not think twice about it.
I like many others spend a lot if time in these countries i use their products airlines hotels etc I've enjoyed holidays there brought my kids and parents to these countries.
Ive also visited over a dozen counties in Aisa and i have seen the best and worst there is to see in all of them.
Nowhere and nobody is perfect and i agree that some cultures and places are less perfect than others but ill support united regardless.
Im happy to do business with them in fact everybody reading this puts in to their coffers everyday.
17 Feb 2019 13:25:23
Ken, I'll never stop supporting United no matter who owns the club.
But you can't tell me you will be happy every time there is a negative story about these people and they are referred to as United's owners.
The Glazers are a lot of things, yet they don't create bad press that reflects on the club.
Like I said there are few people rich enough to buy the club who haven't got unsavoury links somewhere down the line.
Yet the Saudis might have some of the worst.
17 Feb 2019 13:58:40
We won't ever become a European powerhouse on the pitch with the Glazers again, so its needs selling, to the right people.
Are the Saudis? No. If it does happen will i stop following us? Not if we keep our values on the pitch and footballing side of the club.
City have the footballing side isn't too shabby is it.
17 Feb 2019 14:52:29
But wasnt it us i. e. the Brits and the States alongwith our allies who were responsible for setting up the house of Saud in the first place?
17 Feb 2019 15:02:25
Shappy i do business with them every day mate. and i'm happy to do so.
17 Feb 2019 15:24:49
Where is this holier than thou attitude coming from? As long as any owners don’t hock the club with debt to buy it, don’t take out significant amounts as dividend or consultancy fees, invest in the infrastructure, improve support for the playing side etc, who are we to suddenly become refined judges? I support the club, I judge owners on how they treat the club, I am not their moral guardians, nor should we be. If the Saudis buy the club and build a world class club we should be grateful. We are well past the position of a fan takeover so let them get on with it and if it means all the money we generate is committed to football matters at last, then good.
17 Feb 2019 16:24:14
Red Man, the holier than thou attitude comes from me having never murdered someone for speaking or stoned someone to death for their sexual preference or attempted a genocide of Yemen. Hope that clears it up.
17 Feb 2019 17:10:08
RWWD i'm not saying there actions are right. But nobody is free. Just because we are Westernised doesn't mean we can do what we like and think our ways of living are the way.
Our governments pull the wool over our eyes every single day yet not a word is said or eye lid batted.
There is no moral high ground we can take.
17 Feb 2019 17:19:08
Fair words RWWD, but the children in the war ridden Iraq, Syria amongst others speak differently. People are murdered their just so that a nickel is saved on a gallon of gas for us.
17 Feb 2019 17:44:38
RWWD how do you think the british empire was built?
17 Feb 2019 17:44:53
Fzz what any democratic government does even the bad deeds aren't directly attributable to the people who elect them but whatever an autocracy does is directly attributable to the despot who leads it.
What you are saying is like working in a trump tower but if saudis buy us we would be the trump tower.
17 Feb 2019 17:58:04
The Glazers donate to Trump. Trump has links to Saudi and Russia. Everyone's connected.
17 Feb 2019 19:26:54
The British Empire was guilty of a lot of barbarity. I’m not sure how this is relevant to a contemporary football club being bought by the Saudi Royal Family, today. The amount of whataboutery in this thread is embarrassing. Because I criticise x does not mean I automatically endorse y. I don’t want my club to be owned by the Saudi Royal family. They are worse than the Glazers. It’s a simple, unremarkable point to make. The ‘British Empire’ are not trying to buy the club, and if they were (however that would make sense) I’d be against that too.
17 Feb 2019 20:52:06
But doesn't any person who lives in britain directly benefit significantly from britains past exploits as an empire and all the wealth and notoriety that came with it.
17 Feb 2019 21:59:25
It really is awful that people are just willing effectively to say that because this is an ever increasingly connected world, that we don't always have the ability to affect things directly and that other people have in the past and continue to not have moral scruples that therefore it's ok get into bed with evil people. I am as passionate a fan as most but no way do I want out club anywhere near the Saudis. Can we affect their chances of taking control? I believe we can if there is a concerted effort made especially through the media. One thing about Arab mentality is that they do not like to lose face and do not like negative publicity. If we all tien up to Old Trafford with banners saying " Utd not for sale for blood money" then I think they would soon look elsewhere. I can imagine they might look at Spurs and let them. I would rather not have the greatest team of it was funded by anyone who has no compunction on murdering dissenters. Whatever wrongs we British have done or Trump is a red herring. No country is innocent but here in this country we have the rule of law and people don't just disappear because they disagree with the government. What is the world coming to when people cannot see beyond the tribal rivalries involved in winning titles and cannot see the bigger picture. Greed is not good (sorry Michael Douglas) and money often is the root of many evils. Is money all that matters nowadays!
18 Feb 2019 03:34:56
So much you don't know then hendonred, so much. Just because our media doesn't highlight it doesn't mean we are any less evil.
18 Feb 2019 03:49:29
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
18 Feb 2019 13:14:14
They have denied it so go back to your day jobs and relax a bit.
18 Feb 2019 16:55:06
Dodgy Banter glad to see you are on the same page. Seems like that message has been learnt by 7 other reds or should I say ex reds. Well done those 7 Labour MPs today.