Saudi Pro League

It’s ‘sustainable’ as long as they can convince good players to go there.

Which I have argued is not sustainable for many reasons.
Players going there for a final payout at the end of their careers (like MLS etc now) and for just a year mid career for huge money may be sustainable though. Certainly for a decade or so while they develop the league as a brand.
 
It’s too hot over there and the night life is probably shit, I bet they all come back to Europe in a year very much richer but missing the European lifestyle.
 
Yes, and a bad stock market and it'll drop by a similar amount. Presumably that PIF doesn't exist entirely to fund a football league. 'Sustainable' means the league is sustainable, not that they can bankroll it indefinitely. The I in PIF stands for investment, so presumably they expect a return.

The stock market was awful last year. Worst in a decade.

You are mistaking sustainable and self-sustaining. It is sustainable for the Saudi government. It doesn't have to be self-sustaining for the next 10 or 25 years. If they can get it up and running as an MLS alternative, as the major league in MENA, it will become self-sustaining long term.

They are thinking incredibly long term. They put a team next to the NEOM line because they think there'll be millions of people there by 2045. Currently theres no one. They dont' care about short term.
 
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Players going there for a final payout at the end of their careers (like MLS etc now) and for just a year mid career for huge money may be sustainable though. Certainly for a decade or so while they develop the league as a brand.
Even that doesn’t solve the many issues I have already argued make it unlikely the league will become a “brand” capable of actually competing with the top leagues.

Some of the issues simply can’t be solved in the timeframe they have to build it up sufficiently to compete (which I put at 5-10 years).

They may be able to make it in to what the MLS is now for the Middle Eastern region (which the MLS will soon out grow), but it is very unlikely to ever be watched (or esteemed) anything remotely like the Premier League.
 
How long if this continues each season them bringing players in from Europe and the premier league,will we see maybe an invitation to the winners of the Saudi league to the champions league,uefa will see the £/$ signs..

This is the way it'll go, yes. Bit awkward though as Israeli teams can qualify.
 
Even that doesn’t solve the many issues I have already argued make it unlikely the league will become a “brand” capable of actually competing with the top leagues.

Some of the issues simply can’t be solved in the timeframe they have to build it up sufficiently to compete (which I put at 5-10 years).

They may be able to make it in to what the MLS is now for the Middle Eastern region (which the MLS will soon out grow), but it is very unlikely to ever be watched (or esteemed) anything remotely like the Premier League.
Exactly,but the other league’s should could be worried Spain,Germany and Italy..
 
Why? I don't get that conclusion. They're there because of the money, nothing else. I don't blame them, but it isn't a sporting decision. Isn't it pretty well known that this all precedes the Saudis bid for the World cup?

If they get that I'm pretty sure it'll be job done and they'll stop the insane amounts of money being spent. It's not sustainable, even for them.

There will just be a huge turnover of players. I expect the transfers involving fees will die down and become fairly rare, but they'll still get good free transfers going there to line their pockets on 1 or 2 year deals and then coming back to play in the traditional leagues.
 
Exactly,but the other league’s should could be worried Spain,Germany and Italy..
I think La Liga and Bundesliga will be fine, but the likes of Serie A and Ligue 1 should probably be worried, as the Saudi Pro League could cut in to their market, at least over the next decade, if the Saudis are successful in building a current MLS-level league.
 
Not sure if anybody will give a fuck about it. Is it a one league country, no relegation pressure and with the actual country funding the league, it’ll basically be a WWE type scenario.

Are they going to arrange games for international audiences, would you watch?
 
The stock market was awful last year. Worst in a decade.

You are mistaking sustainable and self-sustaining. It is sustainable for the Saudi government. It doesn't have to be self-sustaining for the next 10 or 25 years. If they can get it up and running as an MLS alternative, as the major league in MENA, it will become self-sustaining long term.

They are thinking incredibly long term. They put a team next to the NEOM line because they think there'll be millions of people there by 2045. Currently theres no one. They dont' care about short term.
A lot can change in 10 or 25 years politically. And as long as the league is being subsidized by massive handouts from the state, it will always be subject to the whims of politicians and their political situation. The world is full of leaders who love to have their name on some big project but are less keen to do the boring job of maintaining it once it's there. The world is full of infrastructure and projects that were built without a thought given about their long-term future and whether they would offer any long-term economic benefits or whether they'd be an economic drain. And you've basically said that they're building a drain on their resources. And one that politically, when it's no longer new and exciting, might be quite hard to justify and might be the sort of thing that gets cut when savings need to be made.
 

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