Jonathan David

[InglewoodJack]

56 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

He's far more likely to win trophies at Al Hilal than Lille. They're the top team in the country, and perhaps the top team on the continent. You may not value the trophies they compete for as much, but that doesn't mean everyone else feels the same. I think you're wrong to assume a player on a mid-table European club will 'actually play competitively' compared to one that's expected to win trophies every year in country and on continent.

I'm not too sure what you mean by generational wealth. Certainly there are younger people making more money than he would be. I do know a lot of athletes that have made career choices based on money though.

Over the last month Al Hilal barely beat Scott Kennedy’s Wolfsburger, drew against a Libyan team, lost to Al Sadd and needed a late goal to beat Wydad Casablanca. I don’t think they’re the best team in Asia. 
 

I think it’s a fair assumption that players playing for their next contract in a good European league are going to care more about playing competitively than 30+ stars who have just been paid more money than they’ll ever spend to play in a worse league. Do you think a guy like Benzema who openly mocks players in Europe (Giroud is go kart I am F1, etc) is going to be playing his hardest in KSA? What about Ronaldo who has scored one goal in his last 5 games? We want him to leave Lille to play in a better league because we think the competition will be better and he can elevate his game by playing for better teams with better players. Going to Saudi Arabia is the opposite of that. 
 

As for generational wealth, I meant that if he does go to Saudi Arabia, he will earn enough money to probably take care of his kids and likely their kids as well for the rest of their lives. In Europe he’ll earn millions and he set for life, but in the Middle East he could set his family up for generations. I sympathize with wanting to make that choice and if he does go to Saudi Arabia, I would never hold it against him personally, just that it does nothing for us as a national team. 

[Aird25]

32 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Over the last month Al Hilal barely beat Scott Kennedy’s Wolfsburger, drew against a Libyan team, lost to Al Sadd and needed a late goal to beat Wydad Casablanca. I don’t think they’re the best team in Asia. 

Okay, they won the AFC Champions League 2 of the last 4 years, and they've won the most overall. They've also been part of more than twice as many finals as any other club. They've recently added Ruben Neves, Malcom, Savic, Koulibaly etc. and they're rumoured to be after David

[Ottawafan]

13 hours ago, Dominic94 said:

The reality is that the Saudi league quality will pass mls soon if it hasn’t and they will catch France in 5 years if they don’t stop the spending.

IF players who go to Saudi Arabia and stay.  Long way to go.

[Aird25]

14 minutes ago, Ottawafan said:

IF players who go to Saudi Arabia and stay.  Long way to go.

Because so many players go to Saudi Arabia and leave for greener pastures?

[InglewoodJack]

33 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

Okay, they won the AFC Champions League 2 of the last 4 years, and they've won the most overall. They've also been part of more than twice as many finals as any other club. They've recently added Ruben Neves, Malcom, Savic, Koulibaly etc. and they're rumoured to be after David

It remains to be seen if all those players can actually gel as a team- they should be blowing out all these other clubs, yet they aren’t. Regardless though, best team in Asia or not is a level below where David should be. I wouldn’t exactly be thrilled if he ended up at the best team in concacaf either.

 

13 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

Because so many players go to Saudi Arabia and leave for greener pastures?

China also tried doing this a few years back and now no one is signing but late career contracts in China anymore. Even MLS’ big star acquisitions like Beckham, Zlatan and Drogba didn’t exactly stick around too long either. Saudi Arabia is investing all this money to sportswash their image and there’s no telling if this will actually work. Qatar spent billions on the World Cup for the very reason and all that did was highlight things like their regressive views and human rights violations. They practically admitted defeat before the WC even finished. Unless Saudi Arabia is able to build an international media ecosystem that attracts viewers across the world in a matter of a few years, this won’t work. Especially as America falls deeper in love with soccer, the sport’s media center is going to shift west, not east. 

Edited August 2, 2023 by InglewoodJack

[SpursFlu]

I think its more of a that's their shit and this our shit. Good luck to them

Personally I hope David goes to Tottenham because I wake up on the weekends and watch Tottenham. I don't care if Al Shapoop clones Maradona. I'm not going out of my way to watch. I've already got too much football on my plate

Edited August 2, 2023 by SpursFlu

[Ruud]

20 hours ago, Shway said:

Trust me. Seem's like some here aren't level-headed. 

I would hate this move, but reality is money talks. And I don't blame him for being given the opportunity to cash out. Even after the contract, he should be in his prime years.

Him going to Tottenham would be just as bad. In my honest Arsenal fan opinion.

Just down the road though.  Very convenient. Plus north London derby which would be win-win.  
 

so not quite as bad. 

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

I can and will find a way to cheer for him in Saudi, not so in North London.  

But hopefully neither.

[Ottawafan]

2 hours ago, Aird25 said:

Because so many players go to Saudi Arabia and leave for greener pastures?

I honestly can't tell if you are being serious.

[king1010]

 

[Acid-Tone]

18 hours ago, Dominic94 said:

The reality is that the Saudi league quality will pass mls soon if it hasn’t and they will catch France in 5 years if they don’t stop the spending.

You think they're gonna catch the French league while having a limit's on how many foreigners each team can field?  

 

 

[Acid-Tone]

It's a fairly generous limit at 8 per squad, but still, that'll cap the potential of having owners with bottomless pockets.

[Aird25]

2 hours ago, Ottawafan said:

I honestly can't tell if you are being serious.

It was meant as sarcasm. They have a pretty good retention record for players performing well, don't they?

[Atlantic]

Wonder if David to West Ham could be on the cards if/once Scamacca leaves. They’ll have plenty of cash to spend near Lille’s valuation.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

Just now, Atlantic said:

Wonder if David to West Ham could be on the cards if/once Scamacca leaves. They’ll have plenty of cash to spend near Lille’s valuation.

Wrong kind of striker for Moyes.

[Shway]

10 hours ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

Wrong kind of striker for Moyes.

It's the reason Scamman is leaving.
He doesn't like doing the dirty work of a lone striker. That's the only reason I think Michail has stuck around even with his production considerably dropping last season.

[InglewoodJack]

https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/1358431/article/2023-08-02/mercato-losc-un-interet-d-al-hilal-pour-jonathan-david

 

Lille deny the rumours that Al Hilal is interested, are apparently surprised by the news. Article also says that he’s Juventus’ first choice if they can sell Vlahovic.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

1 minute ago, InglewoodJack said:

https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/1358431/article/2023-08-02/mercato-losc-un-interet-d-al-hilal-pour-jonathan-david

 

Lille deny the rumours that Al Hilal is interested, are apparently surprised by the news. Article also says that he’s Juventus’ first choice if they can sell Vlahovic.

Well, a Lille site does but I am more inclined to believe them. 

[Jack1997]

4 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/1358431/article/2023-08-02/mercato-losc-un-interet-d-al-hilal-pour-jonathan-david

 

Lille deny the rumours that Al Hilal is interested, are apparently surprised by the news. Article also says that he’s Juventus’ first choice if they can sell Vlahovic.

God bless Lille I will never say a bad thing about them again

[InglewoodJack]

2 minutes ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

Well, a Lille site does but I am more inclined to believe them. 

I take this quote to be directly from the club, or “inside sources say”:

 

Quote

Au LOSC, on semble tomber des nues à la lecture de cette info, en la qualifiant « d’information lunaire »

Edited August 3, 2023 by InglewoodJack

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

8 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

I take this quote to be directly from the club, or “inside sources say”:

 

We have "inside sources" at West Ham that say the exact opposite things.  Lots of people trying to make money off inside sources these days.

But again, they seem more believable to me.

[jhoops__]

 

[jhoops__]

Let’s hope onesoccer has Lille matches again this season…

[Dominic94]

On 8/2/2023 at 7:02 PM, Acid-Tone said:

You think they're gonna catch the French league while having a limit's on how many foreigners each team can field?  

 

 

You really think they won’t change that to grow the game ?

[frmr]

1 hour ago, jhoops__ said:

 

Still need to see what happens with Kane, Osimhen and Vlahovic. Another season at Lille wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, I guess. Better than Saudi.