Silly money

Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, of the Abu Dhabi United Group—the new onwers of Manchester City, has said that he is planning a £135 million, yes one hundred and thirty five million pounds, bid for Cristiano Ronaldo. This strikes me as absurd: Ronaldo—whose big game temperament remains in question—is not worth anywhere near that much; City are contemplating paying way over the odds just to secure a trophy signing. (Personally I’d rather have the Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin, valued at about £20 million, playing for my club than Ronaldo). But the more important issue is, is this further flow of money into the game good for football?

Generally, I tend to agree with Danny that the more clubs who can afford to challenge for the Premiership the better—and it would be hilarious to watch Manchester United lose their star player to their local rivals. But my worry is what if the Abu Dhabi United Group gets bored with their new toy? If they do, they’ll leave Manchester City with an unsupportable wage bill and a ton of debt.