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Sepp Blatter: Stupid or Schizophrenic? | 
Sepp Blatter is infamous around football circles for being an extraordinarily inconsistent man and one of the most biased football politicians ever. This is a man that named Real Madrid the club of the century, became an honorary member of the Real Madrid board, and constantly runs his mouth about the evil that is the English Premier League.
Cristiano Ronaldo the “slave”
Think back to one year ago – Sepp Blatter tried to interfere in football matters once again by weighing in with his own opinions about Manchester United’s decision to hold on to Cristiano Ronaldo. The FIFA President heavily criticized Manchester United for holding on to the world’s best player, comparing his situation to that of a slave.
First of all, I’ve never heard of a slave that earns over £100,000 a week. Second, Manchester United were doing what every club does – holding on to a player that was under contract. Cristiano Ronaldo and his agent knew just as well as the United management that he had an agreement with the club. He was winning trophies, getting fame, and making a pretty penny all at the same time. Blatter, though, was not happy about the situation.
Football proves its financial stability
A few weeks ago when Cristiano Ronaldo finally agreed his record breaking transfer to the Spanish giants, Sepp Blatter was right on cue again. Here’s what old Sepp had to say about the transfer fee:
“What does £80 million mean when 10 years ago another player with the same name (Ronaldo of Brazil) moved from one club to another for $50 million? It means that there is still a demand to have the stars.
“We are in a very sensitive market, in an economic crisis, but football remains a fantastic product, not just to buy or sell but a product that gives people what they want – emotions. They want the stars.
“This is the game of the people and they need stars. Okay, it is a lot of money, but he is performing.
“Ten years ago there was painting from Picasso’s Blue Period which was sold by Sothebys in London at that time for over £100 million.
“And what happened to this painting by Picasso? They hid it somewhere so no-one could take it away. Nobody can see it.
“But a football player, you can see him once or twice a week, he is there, he is a star, he is being billed as a star. It is not the money he is getting, it’s the money between the clubs.
“Okay, you might say it is too much, but you have to put it in context of what football in our society is worth and what other things in our society are worth.”
Okay, so clearly when Real Madrid splash unheard of cash it is okay. In fact, it’s a good sign. It means that football is healthy and that all is going well in the world. What happens when someone other than Real Madrid wants to splash the cash, though? In typical Sepp Blatter fashion, the exact opposite is the story.
June 2009: Spending is bad…if you’re English
Now, following Real Madrid’s unprecedented and irresponsible spending spree, Blatter is pointing fingers at the English Premier League and its biggest clubs. Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea are all on the verge of some big money transfers, but Sepp is having none of it.
In a complete reversal of his sentiments just weeks ago, Blatter is slamming the money that the Premiership clubs have. This is what he said just yesterday:
“There are big associations, like France, Germany and Spain where there is a by-law that the owners of the club must be at least 51% from the club. They must be members of the club or partners from the same country. This does not exist in the Premier League and it is a problem we have to address.
“We have no right to interfere in economic movements. We, the whole FIFA family, is aware of this. We have spoken before about financial fair play. Financial fair play is not only a licensing system and financing control but financing fair play means also that all participants should observe a minimum of fair play.”
This inconsistency is not only unacceptable for the man that is supposed to be leading the beautiful game, but it is embarrassing and corrupt how biased this man is.
Agree with Brian? Do you hate Sepp Blatter? Is he competent enough for his position? Have your say below!
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i dont know how anybody can support what sepp is saying. he is a hypocrite and is as bias as bias can get. for the few who cant see it you need to open your eyes because he hates to see the success of the english premier league defeating his beloved real madrid.
Speaking of Glazer and United, an American owning a European team. Do you think American owners can succesfully run a European club? I’m not talking about winning, I mean financially. European soccer is completely different than any American sports league in terms of operations. Most people in America can’t comprehend what a transfer fee is.
How is Fulham supposed to compete with Real? Scouting. Effective scouting allows teams with small budgets to compete. Just look at FC Porto. Take a look at some of the returns they’ve made with signings the past 10 years. They just sold Lucho Gonzalez for 18 million euros, they only paid 4.5 for him.
Andy, no one ever expects Fulham to directly compete with Real Madrid, but what you fail to recognize is that because of Madrid’s crazy spending the entire market is getting screwed up. A player that was previously in a team like Fulham’s price range is now way above it because of the market’s current inflation.
And to say that Real’s loans are fine because they “expect to make a profit” is just plain absurd. EVERYONE takes loans out expecting to make a profit…that’s business! Glazer wouldn’t have taken loans out to buy United if he didn’t think he could make even more money.
Chelsea, Man U, Liverpool, Man City etc all made quite huge losses last year, adding to their ever growing debts. Real Madrid, even with the 200 million their expected to spend, all the loans they’ve taken out etc, are still expecting to make a profit this season. That is the main difference, and why Sepp is not being hypocritical at all.
How are Fulham supposed to compete with Real Madrid? They’re not, no one is expecting them to even without these loans from the government etc. What should be asked is how are teams like Valencia who are trying to run a stable business supposed to compete with teams like Chelsea who have money thrown at transfers from their owners?
*rumored
Right, but Real Madrid will be held accountable for it. They expect to make all the money back, maybe even some profit. That can’t really be said about Roman Abramovich, who just inserts money into the club without any intent of getting it back, with loses roomered to go over 300 million dollars. I agree that he’s being a hypocrite, but you also have to admit that it is unfair for other leagues that some EPL teams seem to have a blank check available at all times.
How is Fullham going to compete with the 80 million signing of C. Ronaldo? At the rate we’re going, my answer is that in five years they’ll be bought out by some rich billionaire wanting to brag about owning a football team to his friends. The real question is how is a team like Mallorca or Chievo supposed to compete with that?
Not to mention, it’s completely unrealistic that Fullham would even consider buying C. Ronaldo, who even without Real spending would still be out of their budget. The greats will always want to play in great teams, and that involves a great history like the ones of Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan. This is more of a matter of the ‘normal’ players. Sentimentalism aside, why would someone that could go to play at Spain, Germany or Italy want to play there if they could earn more in England? The only reason I can come up with is the weather…
Before I get accused of being anti-EPL, I’m not. I just merely believe that the best league should be the one that appeals to the best players because of its skill and attractive football, not because of something as mundane as money.
Andy, there are huge contradictions at play here. Praising Real’s signing of Ronaldo is fine, and the fee is in the right region in my eyes, but to then go on and point fingers at English clubs and say that they are making football and uneven playing field because they have more money is outrageous.
Real are ruining the market with their summer purchases, moving prices into outer space and widening the gap between the rich and the poor. How are clubs like Fulham supposed to compete with such spending?
If he is going to praise the 80 million pound signing of Ronaldo, then he shouldn’t be complaining about English clubs ruining a level playing field.
On top of that, Real’s money is NOT coming from their own revenues – it is coming straight from loans and the Spanish government.
But he’s not slamming the fact that English clubs have lots of money, he’s saying that it shouldn’t be allowed that foreign investors that have no relation to the club just come in and throw money at the club and players. Whereas Real Madrid get all their money from revenue, they are just using the money they have accumulated recently to buy all these players. The two situations are not the same and Sepp is not contradicting himself. And why is he wrong about the money for Ronaldo? Makes perfect sense to me, you need to put these sorts of money in perspective, no one blinks when someone spends that much on a painting, so why care when its being spent on one of the best football players in the world?
Lovely article, I despite Platini more however.
What about when he said “I hope Barca win UCL final”. Head of UEFA! And goes completely biased. Tell you, what, he probably would’ve snuck a few more dollars into Overbo’s pocket and told him to go “Take out Ronaldo.”
He is biased fucken guy
Can’t stand Sepp!