When money's no object you end up spending £25 million on sh*te like this
Wading through the thousands of transfer rumours surrounding potential United targets only one thing becomes clear amidst all the uncertainty.
If United are to add to the squad with a ‘big name midfielder’ then it seems Sir Alex is going to have to pay at least 200k a week to tempt the likes of Wesley Sneijder or Samir Nasri to Old Trafford.
In the case of Nasri, certain media outlets are reporting that the French midfielder is now leaning towards a move to the Easyjet Stadium after being tempted by the ‘astronomical wages on offer’ believed to be around the 250k a week mark.
While I’d welcome Nasri at Old Trafford, if he wants to earn a million pounds a month then I think he’d be better off plying his trade for Stockport’s finest. The Frenchman’s a talented player with a proven Premiership pedigree but I thought the whole point of United’s pursuit was that with only a year left on his contract he’d be available at a reasonable price.
Should United match City’s figure then paying around £12 million a year- say over three years -plus £20 million in transfer fees means a player that was considered a bargain would end up costing over £50 million. Now I’m no accountant but even if United do have that sort of money to spend surely it would be better served elsewhere.
Investing in a couple of less proven players for half the money may be a better bet than spending the cost of the entire 1999 team on one player which seems about as wise as buying a long haired chav for £35 million.
City can offer silly money because they’ve got it and seem to have a buy now think later policy when it comes to certain players. I don’t even think they need Nasri and wouldn’t be surprised if they did get him, and he ended up on the bench, but they can afford to be so wasteful while United cannot.
When it comes to Sneijder, it’s almost as though we’d be doing what City do in terms of spending a lot of money on a player who wouldn’t necessarily get in the first team if everyone was fully fit. That may sound somewhat ridiculous but if as was the case at the end of last season, Wayne Rooney drops into an almost attacking midfield role, then Sneijder may not be as indispensable as some believe- certainly not vital enough to warrant a £30 million plus transfer fee, then around £9 million a year in wages.
The latest reports suggest Sneijder, like Nasri is hoping his transfer could lead to mega money wages, although the Dutchman has Malaga not the World’s Richest Club TM as his other suitors so may find it difficult to convince United to pay him the astronomical type wages on offer at City.
The Alexis Sanchez saga- which is becoming almost as tiresome as the Nasri one, seems to have died down somewhat although there’s still enough United transfer rumour embers aglow to keep the smoke going.
The Chilean at one point seemed destined for the Nou Camp and will more than likely still end up there although some reports seem to indicate a deal with United is still possible.
Sanchez almost certainly won’t be hopping on a free flight to The Jet2.com stadium any time soon after Roberto Mancini revealed the winger had turned down a move to City.
There’s no doubt that City told him the wages they were willing to pay to make him part of their ‘project’ whether he’d expect the same terms at United is debatable but it wouldn’t surprise me if he demanded them.
Sanchez is an awesome talent but is it really worth spending vast amounts to acquire a player we may not even really need? I’d argue not. With all the wingers available at United, plus Rooney’s ability to play ‘in the hole’ pursuing Sanchez may be a frivolous endeavour.
It’s obvious there is room for improvement at United, no matter how strong the squad is another top quality player could only elevate it, however any new signings should be made without breaking the club’s wage structure or handing out Rooney type terms.
Part of the problem may be the seeming lack of truly world class players available, which can make breaking the bank for one who is one the market, seem all that more acceptable.
People tend to forget that United have since the Premier League began, never been the richest club and have lost out on certain players because of that.
In the early years it was Blackburn Rovers who were able to offer the sort of wages United weren’t hence their acquistion of Alan Shearer. Although they won the title in 1995, they were never able to successfully maintain a challenge to United’s dominance, partly due to the fact that certain players would rather have earned less playing at Old Trafford each week.
More recently it was Chelsea who had bottomless pockets and were able to convince the likes of Arjen Robben and Jon Obi Mikel that the sun shone brighter in West London than it did in Manchester.
Chelsea may have had success but four titles in five years plus three Champions League finals, tells you which club’s remained the dominant force in Englsih football.
The point I’m making is that United don’t need to try and equal any of the top spender’s wages in pursuit of players, we never have done. Should Sneijder, Nasri or whoever feel they’re worth more than they can get at Old Trafford, I’d be happy to see them sign for City or anyone else for that matter.
i know Man u make 100 million plus profit a year so why on earth should they bargain hunt and let the owners pocket more and more from the loyal fan base and in turn encourage the fans that this is the right way to run the club lol
before the huge debt man u bought a world class player every season making them what they are today
if they are not spending this huge profit on investing in the club shouldn’t the club then reduce ticket prices or create a better match day experience out of those profits for the fans who after all paid the money in the 1st place
While I appreciate your closing comment, I am not in the habit of contradicting myself. We cannot price match city on wages, glad you agree, so why bow to a players huge demands to come here? If money is what a player wants then they will and can sit on the bench for the noisy neighbours. So the equation is simple for a top player: City for the money or elsewhere for the football. And so again, why should we be held to ransom. We can compete without sneijer or nasri – if we have to. Please do not misunderstand me, I would have botth of them in a heartbeat, but at the right price in terms of wages. it is widely accepted that to beat city to a player we want to enter int negotiation with we have to mach theit transfer bids.
As much as money talks, there are also players who want to play football. One of City’s old boys, Ireland, in the news today stating exactly that. He couln’t get football with City so moved. Admittadly, it did not work perfectly for his as Houllier was not hi biggest fan but who knows what will happen under BigMac…
We all know what happens when an ego gets too big at Utd. Fergie takes no prisoners and shows them the exit so why shoud we start taking players in that have egos that wont even fit through the door in the first place?
And I would understand anyone’s concern that in this way we would run the risk of doing an Arsenal but I’m not saying to go to that extreme but perhaps find a decennt balance between splashing the cash and not being bent over by individual players after a payday.
Sneidjer to man utd for 200k not 250k ….. HES CRAZY 250k
My point exactly!
I think their is more than a fair share of hypocrisy being talked about here. The issue here is that United are experiencing the pangs of jealousy and early recognition that a new global sports entity is emerging. United sold it’s soul when it floated and more so when it prostituted itself to the Glaziers. City’s first step at that semi final at Wembley in May was an early taster. Do you want competition or would you rather your puerile banners and sulks at defeat? Come on. It’s only football.
Dump your old laptop into my wall draw and f*ck my mother for free,i have the right use for it, visit man united sites!man united diehard!
This comment has got to be one of the most bizarrly amazing pieces of prose I’ve ever read!!!!!!
Hello all,
The reason the 250k /week is mentioned is because of UK tax rates. Basically after tax he could be making less than what he’s getting at the moment.
MU wont pay him more than Rooney, cos we all know Rooney would spit his dummy out again.
Therefore Nasri who has said he wants trophies not money is at the same place as Sneijder. Choosing another club of low esteem and paid a hell of alot of £££, or being paid potentially less and win trophies and become a MU icon.
It’s a choice by the individual. Sanchez has said NO to city’s money, so there are players who stand by their word. Unlike city new signing from arse nal who said 2 years ago, the only player who goes to city is going for the money. Me personally, Im ok with and understand everyone have their own ambitions.
Im a boxing fan, I remember when Holyfield fought the new heavyweight champion Buster Douglas. Douglas obviously didn’t train, turned up for the pay huge day. The late great commentator/ boxer Gary Mason said within a few minutes of the fight that Holyfield will stop Douglas. And thats what happened, Douglas laying on the canvas looking up at Holyfield. Mason then said,”You know what, I’m sure one day Douglas will think if only I trained,I could have kept the heavyweight belts and not care about the money,to be Champion of the World”.
Perhaps these footballing mercenaries will one day think the same, what if…then again perhaps not…
From the start iv been dead against sneijder being given 250k a week, thats a ludicrous amount of money!! Hes worth half that maximum. If he chooses to play for city for 250k good luck to him, we want class players at united who want to win trophies not money chasers.
Fair play rules are a smokescreen, their sheikh owns the sponsor, therefore he can fiddle around the sums all he wants.
Hehehe, always fun to read the pre-season banters, well as long as we don’t stab each other, it’ll be alright.
I myself, as bad as I want it to join the banters, I always believe that in the end, all is done on the pitch, so before August rolls, I’d like to keep it to myself, hopefully, come May next year, it’s the same all over again, United being the champions!
It’s always good to have another team to challenge United, though we’re not tired to win trophies after trophies, one of the things to always be the best in the world, is challenges, that way we’ll always on our toes. I kinda love the ‘tick tock’ thingy spurred by City fans, it urges us to do better, and it’s a good thing!
I still remember that the only pre-match buzz (in the PL anyway) I had is when we were to face L’pool, but then Arsenal came, Chelsea came, then City came, even Spurs came close enough last season, I hate it as much as I love it!
This season, it’s pretty much the same as last year, United written off by everyone, well, thank goodness they’re doing it again! Let them all in: new manager at Chelsea, Dalglish returns at L’pool, City’s bottomless pocket to dominate transfer market, Arsenal’s… well, being Arsenal.
And let the skepticism come United way: spending too much money on nobodies (some would say that nobody wanted our signings so far), let them mock our owner’s debts, let them mock our lost against Barcelona over and over again, let them mock Bebe, Obertan, Berbaflop, etc. You should realise it by now that NOTHING IS NEW for us, being the Champions, being the most popular, being the most supported, we’re subject to those comedies.
Well, let’s be entertained by them, it’s always a good warm up to be entertained by trophies at the end of the season.
Glory Man United!
I like the spirit of this report. Interestingly as a Chelsea Fan, I really hope Man U will follow the advise that was prescribed in the article.
The reality in today’s world is that players are expensive ( v expensive ) and not bidding is not an option for aspiring teams ( ask arsenal ) and it is my hope that more teams will take this high road and hopefully be successful – but it will go a long way to making life a little easier for Chelsea and other teams !!
Blue Tony Says :The issue here is that United are experiencing the pangs of jealousy and early recognition that a new global sports entity is emerging.
OMFG the day i as a manchester united fan gain “pangs of jealousy” will be the day i go and support F.C United.
What have we got to be jealous of?
since the bluenoses have had the money to throw around you still aint won the league, you won the F.A Cup for gods sake not the european cup
you bought Tevez (one of our cast off’s proclaimed him as your messiah and now you are experiencing one greedy b@@tard, which is why we got rid of him.
up until this year it was 34 glorious years which i as a red enjoyed each season, your glory days will always be behind you, division 2 was as low as you could get and im hoping one day it will happen again.
not that im bitter, i just cant stand shitty…lol