Man City's Ludicrous Bid For Kaka, And The Future Of Transfer Fees
In case you have been living under the proverbial rock, allow me to convey the news of Man City's audacious, ostentatious and ludicrous bid for Kaka. The pledge? A cool 120 million euros, or 107 million pounds.
There are a couple of things to say about this number. First, it is a Godfatherian offer that Milan cannot refuse. I'm sure 90 or even 75 million would have been enough, but this number is aimed at making it in an easy decision for Milan. It is gluttonous, but intentionally so. Indeed, Ancelotti is already sort of reconciled to losing his talisman.
Second, you really have to wonder about the future of transfer fees. Kaka is a great player, but one hundred and twenty million euros? Seriously? If this is the new market, then I shudder to imagine what guys like Messi and Cry-stiano Ronaldo will be worth. By way of illustration, consider that Bayern want 50 million pounds for Frank Ribery, which is more than what Zinedine Zidane commanded in his move from Juve to Real in 2001. To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, I've seen Zinedine Zidane in 2001 and you, Frank Ribery, are no Zinedine Zidane from 2001.
To temper these concerns, we have to remember that we've been here before. When Roman took over Chelsea five years ago, there were similar worries that the sport as we knew it would come to an end. Those worries, by and large, proved to be unfounded. But there is something deeply unsettling about a nine-figure bid for a player, and you have to wonder where all this is going.
There are a couple of things to say about this number. First, it is a Godfatherian offer that Milan cannot refuse. I'm sure 90 or even 75 million would have been enough, but this number is aimed at making it in an easy decision for Milan. It is gluttonous, but intentionally so. Indeed, Ancelotti is already sort of reconciled to losing his talisman.
Second, you really have to wonder about the future of transfer fees. Kaka is a great player, but one hundred and twenty million euros? Seriously? If this is the new market, then I shudder to imagine what guys like Messi and Cry-stiano Ronaldo will be worth. By way of illustration, consider that Bayern want 50 million pounds for Frank Ribery, which is more than what Zinedine Zidane commanded in his move from Juve to Real in 2001. To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, I've seen Zinedine Zidane in 2001 and you, Frank Ribery, are no Zinedine Zidane from 2001.
To temper these concerns, we have to remember that we've been here before. When Roman took over Chelsea five years ago, there were similar worries that the sport as we knew it would come to an end. Those worries, by and large, proved to be unfounded. But there is something deeply unsettling about a nine-figure bid for a player, and you have to wonder where all this is going.
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Football
15 comments:
KAKA is a great midfield player but i donno if he can survive the cold and fast nature of E.P.L ....but i think that he has been given permission 2 talk 2 MANCITY 2day ..i wud love 2 c him there though....MESSI is number 1 for me bro ..wat ya thnk of that
The shadiest of sources, the Sun, is putting the figure at around £243m if you take in wages too.
Chelsea's amping up of the transfer market was ridiculous, but this is just absurd. 50m for Ribery? I can only hope the council estate go down the same route as Chelsea (i.e floundering around 3rd place with disenchanted superstars and reputedly an owner no longer interested).
Zubair Khan:
I think Kaka is good enough to thrive anywhere, though it does bear mentioning that big-money players from Italy tend to be flops in England (Veron, Sheva etc). But to reiterate, I think Kaka will buck that trend.
And you're right, Messi is definitely the best player in the world.
Asfand:
The 50m-for-Ribery-figure is the demand Bayern seem to be making of Barca. It could just be a bargaining tactic. I can't see Barca paying that much for him to be honest, especially given how ludicrous their own bid for Benzema is going to be.
And isn't third place a dream outcome for a relegation-zone team?
The only thing that seems to point towards any semblance of a rosy future regarding the outrageous cash Man City now have is the pressure that'll follow.
We've seen it with Chelsea; Ranieri, Grant, and seemingly Scolari have all fallen to it.
ah, I thought the Ribery bid was from Man City :$ Has Benzema mentioned he's keen on Barca btw? I remember a while ago he came out with something about Juve/Man Utd/Milan, but it seemed more like he was chucking names out there in an effort to get Barca to trump up the money (well not him as much as agent via that bastard owner of Lyon, Aulas).
Yech.
Your attempted wisecrack ("Cry-stiano") is almost as lame as "Shoaib Actor" or "Kamran Khatmal".
I think the point about the pressure that will follow deserves to be followed up.
I find it very intriguing that Mark Hughes has to constantly reiterate the face that this outrageous bid was sanctioned/approved by him along with the director football etc.
He is not being consulted and is under pressure from the high expectations.
His head will roll.Soon.
Manchester City cannot be compared with Chelsea. Roman may have caused a stir, but he wasn't all that much different from the billionaires running several Italian sides. Manchester City on the other hand is the first team to be in the control of a trillion dollar conglomerate.
While we may blame Roman for jacking up transfer prices, he's not the only culprit. In England Championship (Second division) sides were busy buying rubbish players for over 5 million pounds. And Liverpool spent 20 million on Keane. They were all culpable, except of course Arsenal.
The issue troubling premiership and championship clubs in England (and I suspect Italy, Spain and Germany) isn't escalating transfer fees, it's figuring out how they're going to afford paying the ludicrous wages while carrying on so much debt.
@ Ahsan
The big difference between Kaka and Veron is pace. Having said that, I don't know how willing Kaka will be to run around in January in dreary Manchester. It's worth repeating, he will be trading Milan for Manchester, that's got to do something to his morale.
@ Saim
The pressure is certainly on Hughes, but I don't think the transfer is being stuffed down his throat. On the contrary he seems happy about it (which manager wouldn't be?) and has already incorporated Kaka in his new formation (4-1-4-1), as per The Guardian.
You also need to take the fact in account that it is the time of recession. 2001 was the time pf prosperity. If this is the way things are in recession, i wonder how it will turn out to be when the recession is over.
Asfand:
My understanding is that Barca want Benzema a lot more than Benzema wants Barca. He'll have 3-4 big name suitors in the summer, that's for sure.
MYK:
Sorry, we can't be all as brilliant humorists as you. Perhaps I deserve to be incinerated for this violation of comedic standards?
AKS:
What, exactly, are you trying to say about the nightlife in Manchester?
Tazeen:
True, true.
ribery is bayerns only true champions league quality player (post kahn, maybe lahm should be in there)....£50m is very likely to dissuade barca, bayern simply cannot afford to lose him. he may already be a legend and an adopted son to all bayern fans but the article you quoted is not the first time he's hinted at moving to a bigger club.
I think alot of success goes to morhino...manchester city needs some one like him...i wud go with FRANK RIKAARD ...he is available...huges just isn't no top manager....and wud still love 2 c kaka play in the EPL.....by the I THNK barca WINS THE NEXT C.L...and MESSI gets the next best players award cause he is much better then CRY BABIES ...RONALDO AND ROONEY...
My 20 dollar bet on City to win the UEFA cup at 26 to 1, made last summer, is suddenly looking a lot more solid. Good times.
Also, can someone please tell Arsene to buy a holding midfielder. Please. I mean, getting Arshavin will be great and all, but we need him a lot less than we do a Senna or Gattuso-like player.
JJY:
Alright then, you can have Yaya Toure when we snag Fabregas. Will that make you happy?
why do you have to be such an obnoxious c*nt? We agreed to not speak of that until the deal was done, in 5 years. So please stop mentioning it, you heartless, soulless fuckface.
Five years? Hahaha. Dude, if Arsenal finish out of the CL this year, he's gone. Please reconcile yourself to this.
By the way, did you leave that last comment drunk? It's a very "I just stumbled home from a bar and saw something on the internet that really pissed me off and lashed out" type of comment.
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