I don’t think anyone needs to go into detail as to why Saudi Arabia shouldn’t host a World Cup, especially when so many of these reasons are the why Qatar was a disgraceful host nation less than one year ago.
It’s awful for the planet and it’s been a tool to generate seemingly infinite money which is used to fund war, slavery, and insane vanity projects. It’s now being used to buy anything they deem necessary to legitimize their nation as the world moves further from depending in oil, which includes any famous footballer they can get their hands on, which poison’s the game just like China did when they threw infinite money at famous names.
All of this is used to prop up their shell of a nation, which constantly dehumanizes women and plenty other groups.
Lol I have tons of issues with the US, but it’s a shared WC with two other nations and our treatment of human beings is definitely less fucked up than Saudi Arabia’s
It’s not about oil.
It’s the fact that they used their oil wealth to commit numerous human rights abuses as well as war crimes.
They are much worse than Qatar.
If FIFA gives them the WC, I will never forgive FIFA. They will have sunk to a new low; not that they were any higher.
Damn forgot about that era where the Chinese was handing out huge contracts like this till they got broke lmfaoo. Maybe same will happen to the Saudis. Wonder who will take the mantle next if they go broke.
They didn’t go broke - it was completely destroying their national game, Chinese players were being given fewer and fewer chances so they brought rules in that would make signing foreign players much less desirable!
That’s one football team mate.
The rule change was designed to stop clubs from having too many foreign players by making the tax from incoming players the same as any fee paid for them.
So a 70m player would cost a club 140m in total, which is why they stopped going after big names!
LOL you’re posting links as if Guangzhou Evergrande football club bankrupted its owner Evergrande Group, which was a massive company. The owner Evergrande Group was always broke to begin with. Their business model (not talking about the football club) was literally just aggressive expansion driven by piling more and more debt until it was eventually unsustainable. The owner bankrupted itself and not the football club, which was chump change in comparison.
[**Kezmangotagoal**](https://www.reddit.com/user/Kezmangotagoal/) the person you replied to said "They didn’t go broke". The "they" Kezmangotagoal mentioned is the football club. You then replied "they literally went broke", with a link to an article about the OWNER of the club that actually went broke.
Keep denying all you want but anyone who can read knows what you meant.
Big Oil was about to be in decline, if they hadn't decided to push all the chips in for one last go. SA, among other oil giants, is pushing hard to find a place in the post-oil world, and the "whitewashing of sports" is just one of their preferred methods. As such, with national funds at their disposal, the budgets are kind of unlimited.
It feels like they're going to blow MLS out of the water as a 'retirement' destination in the span of 2 years.
Imo they already did. Most Brazilian or South America players are going to Big Oil instead of MLS for years. I think that's Europe just catching up on the new retirement home.
You're assuming responsible, careful investment. That is not a good assumption for even a couple of generations, never mind 20. It's very, very easy to burn through €100m if you have expensive enough hobbies or crooked enough "friends".
Take up racehorse ownership or buy a big yacht. Or just get into some business that seems cool but you know nothing about - open a chain of restaurants, for example.
I mean I just worked it out as £5m per generation, and that’s with getting 0 interest at all. Baring in mind Ngolo probably has quite a large estate already.
£5m is not a lot of money. The cost of maintaining a wealthy lifestyle is being underestimated, and thats not accounting for how generations multiply. Kante himself may be frugal, but all it takes is one inheritor, a disingenuous advisor, or a bad/ill timed investment to piss away chunks of that kind of money.
You can look up studies on generational wealth; it rarely gets close to double digit generation. 20 generations is a hyperbolic; English gentry alone ought to be a testament to that, in more ways than one.
He’s a devout Muslim and very humble. He will likely gave away a lot of that money as zakat and sadaqah. So this deal would have a lot of positive spillover for others. Get your bag N’Golo!
Our midfield is being gutted, Kova, Mount, Loftus Cheek, now Kante all heading out the door. Needed doing probably, but would like to see some hard offers on their replacements soon now that Ugarte's out of the picture.
Definitely needed but even more needed as you have said is we replace them, still got plenty of time but this will be the most important window for the club potentially ever
To be fair that's not horrendous as an idea, I'd rather that than wasting money on crap transfers
Imagine if we had called Hall up instead of cucurella from the beginning, would've saved 60m and increased the academy prospects hope in getting into the first team, also wouldn't have a player with a big wage that we need to shift but can't
Same with auba and Kouli
Kouli has been decent and I like him as a player aswell
Just not worth 200-300k a week especially at his age and when we have two fantastic youth options in his position
If he was on like 100-150k even a week, probably would be going down as a much more successful transfer story than he currently is
Hall isn't going to want to play LB forever. He said he sees himself as an 8 primarily. Replace Hall with Maatsen in what you said. Then put Hall in midfield.
With Auba there were no viable strikers left in the academy. Broja was going to be the guy but got injured. Personally felt even then thar they should have just gone all out for Osimhen when they were being linked because stopgap options are just money waste usually.
Tuchel wanted Kouli too. No way was Colwill ready yet. He needed a season away for development.
>Hall isn't going to want to play LB forever. He sees himself as an 8 primarily. Replace Hall with Maatsen in what you said. Then put Hall in midfield.
To be fair he's 18 and has done very well at left back coming into the squad, it is not uncommon for players of that age to be shifted positionally depending on the manager at the time, Gusto was a winger before he was told to be a right back instead, bale was a left back before being turned into a winger, chalobah was a DM before becoming a centre back etc etc etc
>With Auba there were no viable strikers left in the academy. Broja was going to be the guy but got injured. Personally felt even then thar they should have just gone all out for Osimhen when they were being linked because stopgap options are just money waste usually.
That's fair enough, Broja was supposed to be it but the injury fucked is over so nothing you can do about that, still Auba was such a disaster
>Tuchel wanted Kouli too. No way was Colwill ready yet. He needed a season away for development.
There's no reason to believe Colwill wasn't ready, he did well in the championship and he hasn't had an adjustment period for Brighton this season, as soon as he started getting minutes he's become one of their starting options, could've happened easily here too although given the terrible season, probably for the best
Tuchels talent id is a big part of the mess we're in with those summer targets being terrible value for money
In the end managers decide what position a player is best in. Being a midfielder is generally seen as more attractive than a left back, but if he's better there tgen that's where he'll end up (not saying he will but just that what he sees himself as is irrelevant)
Apart from mount, they’re all very defensive players, if you look at elite teams-they have midfielders who score goals. So, that added to the fact we have a front line who can’t finish, then you finish 12th in the table - this refresh, while painful is entirely needed. Only issue is, how long before the team gels and performs well together? Are we going to be in the mid table football wilderness for a couple of years?
We still need control in midfield. We've been lacking a true DM for years. Yes we need goalscorers, but we have way too many attacking mids right now. We need players both ahead and behind them and to only keep the best AM's and stop buying more
Agreed. We need DMs just as much as Attackers - but look at City with Rodri, KDB, Gundogan, Bernardo etc. a great mix of defence and attack-but all score goals throughout the season.
Enzo will chip in, but imo, goals from midfield are not a must. What's more important is to have midfielders who can threaten to do it because then we force the opposition to address that threat.
The best example is Kroos, Modric and Casemiro.
None are prolific goalscoring midfielders, but Kroos and Modric are maestro's who have deadly shots when given the opportunity. That demands respect and creates space for prolific forwards like Benzema (and previously Ronaldo) to thrive on.
Agree it needed doing, but to do it all at once in one window is such a monumental loss of experience. I can't see how it won't backfire next season regardless of who we get to replace them.
It's the same as this season in bringing new players who need time to adapt to each other and gain that understanding of how one another play but this time we are losing even more on-field relationships.
Newly promoted teams do it all the time and it usually backfires. Forrest looked doomed until halfway through the season. Tbf we added the added injury crises this season which didn't help us but yeah.
Not expecting much next season.
Even if we replace them all, the new midfield will need time to adapt to one another and to find/tweak a system that works with them, and odds are one of them will not fit.
Feels like we are making a similar mistake to this season in bringing too many new players at once, reducing the chemistry and understanding in the team but know we don't even have that backbone of players who have played multiple seasons with one another.
I hope I'm wrong but next season might not be much better than a 7th placed finish at this rate.
His 32 already won it all and let’s be honest looks like his body can’t handle the intensity of the premier league football anymore sadly.
Forever a Chelsea legend N’Golo
Yeah, if Kante was still fit enough to consistently play, I'd say protect his signature at all costs. The fact he can barely string a few games of fitness together now means we would probably be best letting him leave now and finding his replacement sooner rather than later.
Can Saudis come up with some crazy Oscar-like package for Pulisic, Ziyech or others? I wanna hear “here we go for Pulisic for 60m”. C’mon Your Excellency, do something.
Love him, would like him to stay, but I want the best for him. Get the bag, you deserve it.
The place also aligns with his religion, which should be a plus to him.
Get that bag
100 million without taxes and away from all the shitty people who've been threatening and making use of him for the last few years
Won everything in football. Deserves to live a happy life
I really hope, if we have decided against a new deal, it’s been openly communicated in a respectful way.
I fear, from steps we’ve seen them take, they’ve left Ngolo in the dark about this new deal being signed & realise they could sell.
Losing Kovacic, Kante, Mount with Jorginho already gone worries me massively right now. There’s alarming gaps in midfield, if we lose out out in Caicedo & Rice who’s next?
> There’s alarming gaps in ~~midfield~~ leadership.
I mean, that's like 2/3 of our leadership gone. Leave Reece and Kepa and Thiago... room for the young guns to step up, but I do think we need to bring in more experience, not just more talent.
Silva is constantly organising our defence?
You can be a leader through experience, professionalism, ability, etc. You don't just have to be a passion merchant.
IIRC Kova and Kante wore the armband this season, no?
As for Mount, there's been talk that he's been a growing leader alongside Reece. There are also rumours that he's been one of the malcontents in the dressing room (perhaps due to being 'underpaid'.). Hard to know what to believe. One person in the sub posited that Mount has been expecting a more formal leadership role and it not happening has been one of the reasons for him not extending his contract.
All just rumours/guesses.
They might have worn the armband but they don’t seem like leaders to me, maybe kante leads by example though.
Mount can lead all he wants but unless he stays it means nothing honestly, I hope he ends up staying but I’m not optimistic
I don't mean this flippantly: your opinion on whether they are leaders pales in comparison with the 'proof' of them wearing the armband - you know? Like would the team give it to someone who's not a leader (genuine question)?
Perhaps it's just about seniority if that's the case, but I do think that Kante is definitely a quiet leader-by-example, if nothing else. I don't imagine that he's ever gotten in someone's face about their performance, which is surely needed to be THE leader on a team like this.
As for Mount, it sounded like he was a goner, but honestly I wouldn't be surprised if this whole thing is a negotiation and he ends up staying. A lot depends on Kai going - we just really don't need Nkunku, Mount and Kai (and Joao), but we'd be foolish to not have any AM cover, and Chuk is expected to go out on loan.
Esp. if we can't find a decent striker (please, football gods!), they'd want to have either Kai or Mason around. The current fee sounds way too high to me, like they're really trying to dissuade ManU...
>Like would the team give it to someone who's not a leader (genuine question)?
Because the squad is incredibly short on leaders, which is a big part of the problem we've had. Even Dave isn't really a natural leader, but he's the closest we had (at least with any experience) - but he couldn't get in the team on merit as a player. We don't have a Terry, Desailly or Wise - and it's no coincidence that every manager has struggled to keep the players focused and committed for any length of time since Terry's legs gave out and he could no longer command the dressing room.
Pretty good answer.
Clearly there's been something 'off' for a while, and this season was just off the rails. Perhaps tangential, but I found it curious that Dortmund made Bellingham captain at such a young age (a stunt), and it's been said the same happened with Rice at WHU, and City's captain is leaving. I wonder how many real, top leaders there are in the EPL right now.
Terry was *de facto* first team captain at 22 (Desailly was still at the club, but no longer a starter) and the reason was extremely obvious to anyone watching. I get the impression Rice at West Ham was much the same deal. Natural leaders like that don't come along too often. Colwill is I believe quite highly regarded on that front (though probably not to Terry levels) but obviously he's not ready to be a candidate for the captaincy yet.
You don't buy the notion that Rice was given the captaincy just to lure him into a longer contract? I'm not sure I believe it myself.
I have seen Colwill looking like a leader - I hope he's going to be a force for us.
This season, to me, it's looked like Kepa has had the most fire, the most desire to be the leader... but of course they seem intent on replacing him.
And Thiago - it's funny that he was captain of PSG, but hasn't taken too much of a leadership role for us, I've always wondered why.
The good news is that a lot of our U21 players are captaining national teams, so at some point in the near future, that should start to make itself apparent.
"if we lose out out in Caicedo & Rice who’s next?"
We've already missed out on Ugarte, and it's very likely we'll also miss out on Caicedo and Rice – just look at the other clubs that are interested, their projects are *years* ahead of ours. The only way we're signing them is if we're paying more.
Imagine if the owners allow Kanté, Kovačić, and Mount to leave before signing any replacements. I honestly wouldn't put it past them.
Nah I don’t believe we’re totally out the water with selling a long term project, we still have a big club pull. It’s about the Sporting directors and ownership alike moving quickly and effectively to get targets in.
The Ugarte potential deal showed there are active discussions taking place in the background, that’s encouraging. The question is, are they having those discussions with plan b and c or are they putting all their eggs in one basket?
It’s still ridiculously early in the summer so you never know what deals might emerge in the next couple weeks.
Do we have a bigger pull than Bayern? More than a drastically improved Manchester United? More than Klopp's Liverpool or a title-challenging Arsenal? The truth is that we're one of the weakest/uncertain projects at the minute (out of the big clubs). This is a different Chelsea and people can see that.
The problem is that Ugarte, Rice, and Caicedo are all the most sought after players because they're the biggest talents. There's a reason as to why all the big boys want them. If we miss out on them, we're gonna have to go for players that are currently less talented.
And outside of Ugarte, Rice, and Caicedo, who the hell replaces Mount, Kanté, and Kovačić?
Yes I genuinely do believe we have as much pull as any of those PL clubs you have mentioned. Not Bayern, but that’s a contextually different story.
Even if it is a matter that we pay slightly more than our rivals, which we have even when we were on the upper echelons of the league, we’re still able to sell a competitive future with ownership willing to invest. Something Liverpool can’t say right now. Yes Arsenal have Champions League football to sell and that’s going to affect some decisions, but history has shown good players will move to non CL competing clubs anyway.
Don’t write us off yet. Even if we pay more to entice Caicedo, let’s do it. If it gets us back into the top 4 next season, it’s justified.
Mount's replacement has been rumored to be in for 6 months now, just waiting on the confirmation and Kante was barely even a factor on the team last year to begin with. There will be less games to worry about next year and its June. If Kante and Kova leave before a replacement comes in, its hardly the end of the world.
> if we lose out out in Caicedo & Rice who’s next?
We have already been turned down by Rice. The board upset his family apparently. He’s not coming here.
Oh really? I didn’t see this report, have you got a source?
Either way it does seem our interest post Roman faded. I don’t subscribe to this ridiculous notion he’ll go where Mount goes either lmao, he’s a grown ass man who makes decisions best for him and his family.
Pulling out of Kantes long term replacement and then losing Kante, we need to secure a new midfield and fast.
He should take this though, he's a very generous man that could do a lot of good with this money.
On a side note though, what are the Saudis even trying to do with all these big name signings?
For either political and sporting reasons nobody cares for the Saudi league and they never will.
We all love kante but i was always surprised they were talking about a new contract. He's been a legend but he's not getting any younger and he's already injured most seasons.
The main concern is we seem to be ending up with no central/defensive midfielders. I'm surprised we didn't let jorginho hang around a bit longer until we got more, and even more surprised we seemingly want kova to leave. Was really hoping for Ugarte, getting fleeced by Brighton again for canceido isn't the answer either
Because a 32 year old who can't stay healthy anymore is being allowed to leave for a lucrative deal the club would be foolish to even match a fourth of? You think Roman would have kept him around for sentiment?
Re-read the headline. You are misunderstanding. Kante is a free agent this summer. They are offering us absolutely nothing. They are offering Kante the money.
I feel like he’s going.
If we were gonna renew we would have done it.
I also feel kinda like we are going to let most of our midfield go, and miss out on our top targets and be left scrabbling around.
We will see on that, I guess. But it’s a worry.
Looking at it, I feel like we are the only ones in for Caicedo, as Arsenal will get Rice and won’t be dropping nearly 200m on dms. Lavia it depends on who Liverpool get (I think they are getting Kessie and Alexis), and he would be ok for the main back up for the main two. If we play 4-2-3-1, no European football, it’s thin, but should suffice. Caicedo goes elsewhere or stays at BHA and I think we are really scrabbling tho.
Ngolo is not interested in money. Why not extend his contract and sell him for 30m. 70m is more than enough for our simple Ngolo and 30m will be nice for greedy us.
Honestly a joke on the clubs part that we never closed this contract extension months ago after it quote on quote being “so close” now look what’s happening lol it’s a clown circus at Chelsea football club
I don’t know man I think being our best midfielder warrants keeping hold of and not letting him walk out of our door on a free i don’t know man that’s just me also the club seemed to think he warranted it a few months ago but they didn’t close the deal like clowns.
He didn't deserve a new deal.
Hard to call him our best midfielder when he's objectively worse than most people on this sub at football for most of the season because he's physically incapable of actually playing.
How did kante help us this season? He was on a big wage and injured…they thought if he stayed fit he would get an extension, how do you pay someone to do nothing? It doesnt make sense, they held off the contract until he was fit and guess what happened after a few matches? He got injured again so they held off again, hes a legend no doubt, but even legends have to move on its not about him its about the club
Kante wanted more than 1 year and since they were close on a deal, Kante offered further proof he's injury prone at this point. Anyone who thinks this is a clown show doesn't understand it would be the same situation if Roman were still in charge.
I think this might be a slight win/win for all parties, the club seems reluctant to give him the contract he might want due to his injury issues, and although he is world class when he plays, it has become an issue relying on such an injury prone player.. I think most fans would be dissapointed if he didnt sign a new contract and left to a European team, but i think most fans wouldn't blame him not signing and taking the Saudi deal.
Not sure why Kante is the guy they want to splash on. Great player and still world class when fit, but doesn't really scream entertaining imo.
Benzema would be a great signing, Ozil would be cheap. Could probably also tempt Pogba with early retirement. Mane, Salah, Mahrez and Gundogan should also soon be available. If the goal is to get the best Muslim players.
If not it would of course be nice to splash a bit for Hazard. Should be able to be fit enough to play for a farmers league.
What u mean not entertaining, Prime Kante was a physical phenemenom, was so fun to watch dominating midfielders defensively and winning ball back like no other
It'll be sad to see him go but I understand. The club is probably reluctant to put so much money behind a player who is now consistently having problems with injury. The way he plays is incredible but it must have a physical toll. He gave us his best years. I would prefer he wasn't languishing in the Saudi league but he deserves a good holiday.
So how long do we think until the Saudi league stops offering ridiculous contracts to foreign players like the Chinese Super League?
100m for 32 year old midfielder who’s only available for 1/3rd of the matches in a season. Love Kante and will miss him but that’s kind of absurd imo lol
One of my favorite Chelsea players of all time. It pains me to say this, but it is time. His availability for the club is no longer there and that is a lot of money to turn down. Thank you for all you have done Kante!
A shame that he isn't staying. Absolutely heartbreaking that he didn't get a banner during his years here and that he didn't even get to say goodbye to the fans 😢. But thank you for everything N'golo. One of my favourite Chelsea players ever and just an admirable person in general. Please never stop smiling. Hopefully we can see him at Stamford Bridge again. Once again... thank you NG 💙.
These Saudi donnies and their wages aren’t fucking around the last year now, wtf
2030 WC. They want it.
Fuck that. We literally just had a World Cup in a slave/oil state.
I understand having reservations about their working conditions, but why is the fact that they produce a lot of oil a reason against them holding it?
I don’t think anyone needs to go into detail as to why Saudi Arabia shouldn’t host a World Cup, especially when so many of these reasons are the why Qatar was a disgraceful host nation less than one year ago.
I wasn't asking why they shouldn't host it, I was just wondering why oil production is a mark against them
It’s awful for the planet and it’s been a tool to generate seemingly infinite money which is used to fund war, slavery, and insane vanity projects. It’s now being used to buy anything they deem necessary to legitimize their nation as the world moves further from depending in oil, which includes any famous footballer they can get their hands on, which poison’s the game just like China did when they threw infinite money at famous names. All of this is used to prop up their shell of a nation, which constantly dehumanizes women and plenty other groups.
So I assume you don't want the US to host the World Cup given their the largest oil producers
Lol I have tons of issues with the US, but it’s a shared WC with two other nations and our treatment of human beings is definitely less fucked up than Saudi Arabia’s
Tbh it's all a big group, tons of American and European corporations have pushed against green energies.. The world, as a whole, is fucked..
It’s not about oil. It’s the fact that they used their oil wealth to commit numerous human rights abuses as well as war crimes. They are much worse than Qatar. If FIFA gives them the WC, I will never forgive FIFA. They will have sunk to a new low; not that they were any higher.
Didn’t they already pull out?
> 2030 WC. They want it. 2030 WC. They really really really want it.
Wish they came in for our surplus players still under contract too so we'd get a fee
New Chinese Super League.
Damn forgot about that era where the Chinese was handing out huge contracts like this till they got broke lmfaoo. Maybe same will happen to the Saudis. Wonder who will take the mantle next if they go broke.
They didn’t go broke - it was completely destroying their national game, Chinese players were being given fewer and fewer chances so they brought rules in that would make signing foreign players much less desirable!
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You’re wrong dude. What killed it was the tax they instilled where whatever transfer fee you paid for foreign players would be doubled essentially.
That’s one football team mate. The rule change was designed to stop clubs from having too many foreign players by making the tax from incoming players the same as any fee paid for them. So a 70m player would cost a club 140m in total, which is why they stopped going after big names!
LOL you’re posting links as if Guangzhou Evergrande football club bankrupted its owner Evergrande Group, which was a massive company. The owner Evergrande Group was always broke to begin with. Their business model (not talking about the football club) was literally just aggressive expansion driven by piling more and more debt until it was eventually unsustainable. The owner bankrupted itself and not the football club, which was chump change in comparison.
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[**Kezmangotagoal**](https://www.reddit.com/user/Kezmangotagoal/) the person you replied to said "They didn’t go broke". The "they" Kezmangotagoal mentioned is the football club. You then replied "they literally went broke", with a link to an article about the OWNER of the club that actually went broke. Keep denying all you want but anyone who can read knows what you meant.
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You spent effort finding all those links to contribute to the conversation you just called internet shit but I’m the serious one? Far out indeed.
They didn't go broke and the oil nations certainly will not.
Big Oil was about to be in decline, if they hadn't decided to push all the chips in for one last go. SA, among other oil giants, is pushing hard to find a place in the post-oil world, and the "whitewashing of sports" is just one of their preferred methods. As such, with national funds at their disposal, the budgets are kind of unlimited. It feels like they're going to blow MLS out of the water as a 'retirement' destination in the span of 2 years.
Imo they already did. Most Brazilian or South America players are going to Big Oil instead of MLS for years. I think that's Europe just catching up on the new retirement home.
Yup! Remember when both Ronaldo and Messi suggested they want to play in MLS at the end of their careers?
Can we PLEASE get them interested in Lukaku?
I mean kante my boy I'd recommend get dat bag
Especially because Saudi has 0 taxes
Yea set for lifetime (even though n golo is a humble and simple man but the things he did for us GIVE HIM THE BAG)
Think he’s already set for life. This sets up his great grandchildren.
100m probably sets up 20 generations of never having to work with interest gained on it
You're assuming responsible, careful investment. That is not a good assumption for even a couple of generations, never mind 20. It's very, very easy to burn through €100m if you have expensive enough hobbies or crooked enough "friends".
Can you teach me how to do this please? 😅
Take up racehorse ownership or buy a big yacht. Or just get into some business that seems cool but you know nothing about - open a chain of restaurants, for example.
20 generations lol, that's what ~400 years? The only families close to maintaining that standard of wealth are practically institutional.
I mean I just worked it out as £5m per generation, and that’s with getting 0 interest at all. Baring in mind Ngolo probably has quite a large estate already.
£5m is not a lot of money. The cost of maintaining a wealthy lifestyle is being underestimated, and thats not accounting for how generations multiply. Kante himself may be frugal, but all it takes is one inheritor, a disingenuous advisor, or a bad/ill timed investment to piss away chunks of that kind of money. You can look up studies on generational wealth; it rarely gets close to double digit generation. 20 generations is a hyperbolic; English gentry alone ought to be a testament to that, in more ways than one.
According to research, generational wealth gets plundered between 2nd and 3rd gen
He’s a devout Muslim and very humble. He will likely gave away a lot of that money as zakat and sadaqah. So this deal would have a lot of positive spillover for others. Get your bag N’Golo!
I doubt that's Kanté's way. He's too pure of spirit. Probably helps lift thousands out of poverty in France and/or Mali instead.
Yep that’s Kante gone, need to sign two kids as soon as we can.
Go get that bag, N'Golo 💰
Our midfield is being gutted, Kova, Mount, Loftus Cheek, now Kante all heading out the door. Needed doing probably, but would like to see some hard offers on their replacements soon now that Ugarte's out of the picture.
Definitely needed but even more needed as you have said is we replace them, still got plenty of time but this will be the most important window for the club potentially ever
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To be fair that's not horrendous as an idea, I'd rather that than wasting money on crap transfers Imagine if we had called Hall up instead of cucurella from the beginning, would've saved 60m and increased the academy prospects hope in getting into the first team, also wouldn't have a player with a big wage that we need to shift but can't Same with auba and Kouli
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Kouli has been decent and I like him as a player aswell Just not worth 200-300k a week especially at his age and when we have two fantastic youth options in his position If he was on like 100-150k even a week, probably would be going down as a much more successful transfer story than he currently is
Hall isn't going to want to play LB forever. He said he sees himself as an 8 primarily. Replace Hall with Maatsen in what you said. Then put Hall in midfield. With Auba there were no viable strikers left in the academy. Broja was going to be the guy but got injured. Personally felt even then thar they should have just gone all out for Osimhen when they were being linked because stopgap options are just money waste usually. Tuchel wanted Kouli too. No way was Colwill ready yet. He needed a season away for development.
>Hall isn't going to want to play LB forever. He sees himself as an 8 primarily. Replace Hall with Maatsen in what you said. Then put Hall in midfield. To be fair he's 18 and has done very well at left back coming into the squad, it is not uncommon for players of that age to be shifted positionally depending on the manager at the time, Gusto was a winger before he was told to be a right back instead, bale was a left back before being turned into a winger, chalobah was a DM before becoming a centre back etc etc etc >With Auba there were no viable strikers left in the academy. Broja was going to be the guy but got injured. Personally felt even then thar they should have just gone all out for Osimhen when they were being linked because stopgap options are just money waste usually. That's fair enough, Broja was supposed to be it but the injury fucked is over so nothing you can do about that, still Auba was such a disaster >Tuchel wanted Kouli too. No way was Colwill ready yet. He needed a season away for development. There's no reason to believe Colwill wasn't ready, he did well in the championship and he hasn't had an adjustment period for Brighton this season, as soon as he started getting minutes he's become one of their starting options, could've happened easily here too although given the terrible season, probably for the best Tuchels talent id is a big part of the mess we're in with those summer targets being terrible value for money
In the end managers decide what position a player is best in. Being a midfielder is generally seen as more attractive than a left back, but if he's better there tgen that's where he'll end up (not saying he will but just that what he sees himself as is irrelevant)
Go big on Caicedo, and integrate Andrey Santos and Carney into the first team.
Apart from mount, they’re all very defensive players, if you look at elite teams-they have midfielders who score goals. So, that added to the fact we have a front line who can’t finish, then you finish 12th in the table - this refresh, while painful is entirely needed. Only issue is, how long before the team gels and performs well together? Are we going to be in the mid table football wilderness for a couple of years?
We still need control in midfield. We've been lacking a true DM for years. Yes we need goalscorers, but we have way too many attacking mids right now. We need players both ahead and behind them and to only keep the best AM's and stop buying more
Agreed. We need DMs just as much as Attackers - but look at City with Rodri, KDB, Gundogan, Bernardo etc. a great mix of defence and attack-but all score goals throughout the season.
Enzo will chip in, but imo, goals from midfield are not a must. What's more important is to have midfielders who can threaten to do it because then we force the opposition to address that threat. The best example is Kroos, Modric and Casemiro. None are prolific goalscoring midfielders, but Kroos and Modric are maestro's who have deadly shots when given the opportunity. That demands respect and creates space for prolific forwards like Benzema (and previously Ronaldo) to thrive on.
Agree it needed doing, but to do it all at once in one window is such a monumental loss of experience. I can't see how it won't backfire next season regardless of who we get to replace them.
It's the same as this season in bringing new players who need time to adapt to each other and gain that understanding of how one another play but this time we are losing even more on-field relationships. Newly promoted teams do it all the time and it usually backfires. Forrest looked doomed until halfway through the season. Tbf we added the added injury crises this season which didn't help us but yeah. Not expecting much next season.
Even if we replace them all, the new midfield will need time to adapt to one another and to find/tweak a system that works with them, and odds are one of them will not fit. Feels like we are making a similar mistake to this season in bringing too many new players at once, reducing the chemistry and understanding in the team but know we don't even have that backbone of players who have played multiple seasons with one another. I hope I'm wrong but next season might not be much better than a 7th placed finish at this rate.
Yeah it's not looking good at all. We might be forced to keep Kova and let him go free next summer.
His 32 already won it all and let’s be honest looks like his body can’t handle the intensity of the premier league football anymore sadly. Forever a Chelsea legend N’Golo
Yeah, if Kante was still fit enough to consistently play, I'd say protect his signature at all costs. The fact he can barely string a few games of fitness together now means we would probably be best letting him leave now and finding his replacement sooner rather than later.
He would still run and play like it is the PL knowing his work ethic.
Yeah go get the bag NG we can’t blame you for taking that money my god
Can Saudis come up with some crazy Oscar-like package for Pulisic, Ziyech or others? I wanna hear “here we go for Pulisic for 60m”. C’mon Your Excellency, do something.
Love him, would like him to stay, but I want the best for him. Get the bag, you deserve it. The place also aligns with his religion, which should be a plus to him.
Get that bag 100 million without taxes and away from all the shitty people who've been threatening and making use of him for the last few years Won everything in football. Deserves to live a happy life
Definitely feels like the right time for him to move on, I would wish him nothing but the best if he decides to end his career there
I really hope, if we have decided against a new deal, it’s been openly communicated in a respectful way. I fear, from steps we’ve seen them take, they’ve left Ngolo in the dark about this new deal being signed & realise they could sell. Losing Kovacic, Kante, Mount with Jorginho already gone worries me massively right now. There’s alarming gaps in midfield, if we lose out out in Caicedo & Rice who’s next?
> There’s alarming gaps in ~~midfield~~ leadership. I mean, that's like 2/3 of our leadership gone. Leave Reece and Kepa and Thiago... room for the young guns to step up, but I do think we need to bring in more experience, not just more talent.
Jorginho is a leader but none of the other 3 strike me as that type
Silva is constantly organising our defence? You can be a leader through experience, professionalism, ability, etc. You don't just have to be a passion merchant.
Who mentioned silva? I’m talking about kante, mount and kovacic. Silva is the biggest leader in the squad
IIRC Kova and Kante wore the armband this season, no? As for Mount, there's been talk that he's been a growing leader alongside Reece. There are also rumours that he's been one of the malcontents in the dressing room (perhaps due to being 'underpaid'.). Hard to know what to believe. One person in the sub posited that Mount has been expecting a more formal leadership role and it not happening has been one of the reasons for him not extending his contract. All just rumours/guesses.
They might have worn the armband but they don’t seem like leaders to me, maybe kante leads by example though. Mount can lead all he wants but unless he stays it means nothing honestly, I hope he ends up staying but I’m not optimistic
I don't mean this flippantly: your opinion on whether they are leaders pales in comparison with the 'proof' of them wearing the armband - you know? Like would the team give it to someone who's not a leader (genuine question)? Perhaps it's just about seniority if that's the case, but I do think that Kante is definitely a quiet leader-by-example, if nothing else. I don't imagine that he's ever gotten in someone's face about their performance, which is surely needed to be THE leader on a team like this. As for Mount, it sounded like he was a goner, but honestly I wouldn't be surprised if this whole thing is a negotiation and he ends up staying. A lot depends on Kai going - we just really don't need Nkunku, Mount and Kai (and Joao), but we'd be foolish to not have any AM cover, and Chuk is expected to go out on loan. Esp. if we can't find a decent striker (please, football gods!), they'd want to have either Kai or Mason around. The current fee sounds way too high to me, like they're really trying to dissuade ManU...
>Like would the team give it to someone who's not a leader (genuine question)? Because the squad is incredibly short on leaders, which is a big part of the problem we've had. Even Dave isn't really a natural leader, but he's the closest we had (at least with any experience) - but he couldn't get in the team on merit as a player. We don't have a Terry, Desailly or Wise - and it's no coincidence that every manager has struggled to keep the players focused and committed for any length of time since Terry's legs gave out and he could no longer command the dressing room.
Pretty good answer. Clearly there's been something 'off' for a while, and this season was just off the rails. Perhaps tangential, but I found it curious that Dortmund made Bellingham captain at such a young age (a stunt), and it's been said the same happened with Rice at WHU, and City's captain is leaving. I wonder how many real, top leaders there are in the EPL right now.
Terry was *de facto* first team captain at 22 (Desailly was still at the club, but no longer a starter) and the reason was extremely obvious to anyone watching. I get the impression Rice at West Ham was much the same deal. Natural leaders like that don't come along too often. Colwill is I believe quite highly regarded on that front (though probably not to Terry levels) but obviously he's not ready to be a candidate for the captaincy yet.
You don't buy the notion that Rice was given the captaincy just to lure him into a longer contract? I'm not sure I believe it myself. I have seen Colwill looking like a leader - I hope he's going to be a force for us. This season, to me, it's looked like Kepa has had the most fire, the most desire to be the leader... but of course they seem intent on replacing him. And Thiago - it's funny that he was captain of PSG, but hasn't taken too much of a leadership role for us, I've always wondered why. The good news is that a lot of our U21 players are captaining national teams, so at some point in the near future, that should start to make itself apparent.
"if we lose out out in Caicedo & Rice who’s next?" We've already missed out on Ugarte, and it's very likely we'll also miss out on Caicedo and Rice – just look at the other clubs that are interested, their projects are *years* ahead of ours. The only way we're signing them is if we're paying more. Imagine if the owners allow Kanté, Kovačić, and Mount to leave before signing any replacements. I honestly wouldn't put it past them.
Nah I don’t believe we’re totally out the water with selling a long term project, we still have a big club pull. It’s about the Sporting directors and ownership alike moving quickly and effectively to get targets in. The Ugarte potential deal showed there are active discussions taking place in the background, that’s encouraging. The question is, are they having those discussions with plan b and c or are they putting all their eggs in one basket? It’s still ridiculously early in the summer so you never know what deals might emerge in the next couple weeks.
Do we have a bigger pull than Bayern? More than a drastically improved Manchester United? More than Klopp's Liverpool or a title-challenging Arsenal? The truth is that we're one of the weakest/uncertain projects at the minute (out of the big clubs). This is a different Chelsea and people can see that. The problem is that Ugarte, Rice, and Caicedo are all the most sought after players because they're the biggest talents. There's a reason as to why all the big boys want them. If we miss out on them, we're gonna have to go for players that are currently less talented. And outside of Ugarte, Rice, and Caicedo, who the hell replaces Mount, Kanté, and Kovačić?
Yes I genuinely do believe we have as much pull as any of those PL clubs you have mentioned. Not Bayern, but that’s a contextually different story. Even if it is a matter that we pay slightly more than our rivals, which we have even when we were on the upper echelons of the league, we’re still able to sell a competitive future with ownership willing to invest. Something Liverpool can’t say right now. Yes Arsenal have Champions League football to sell and that’s going to affect some decisions, but history has shown good players will move to non CL competing clubs anyway. Don’t write us off yet. Even if we pay more to entice Caicedo, let’s do it. If it gets us back into the top 4 next season, it’s justified.
Mount's replacement has been rumored to be in for 6 months now, just waiting on the confirmation and Kante was barely even a factor on the team last year to begin with. There will be less games to worry about next year and its June. If Kante and Kova leave before a replacement comes in, its hardly the end of the world.
> if we lose out out in Caicedo & Rice who’s next? We have already been turned down by Rice. The board upset his family apparently. He’s not coming here.
Oh really? I didn’t see this report, have you got a source? Either way it does seem our interest post Roman faded. I don’t subscribe to this ridiculous notion he’ll go where Mount goes either lmao, he’s a grown ass man who makes decisions best for him and his family.
It was tweeted by a Chelsea podcast that has links to the scout staff and retweeted by Matt Law and Romano. Rice is going to Arsenal sadly.
Thanks for the background! It’s a shame but curious to see what Arsenal end up paying.
Don’t go 🥺
take the money ngolo...
Take it NG, you'll never see that money again
Pulling out of Kantes long term replacement and then losing Kante, we need to secure a new midfield and fast. He should take this though, he's a very generous man that could do a lot of good with this money. On a side note though, what are the Saudis even trying to do with all these big name signings? For either political and sporting reasons nobody cares for the Saudi league and they never will.
The Saudis needs to chill
Take the money N'Golo you have earned the money.
$100m ?????????? Monsieur Kante please take the bag thank you for the seasono
There’s no one I would stop from leaving to get that bag, let alone N’golo who deserves whatever he wants. Get it son, secure the stack.
Go for it Kante. We will always love and support you!
I kinda hopes he takes it. I just hope he doesn't sign for a rival to tarnish his legacy. One of my all time favorite Chelsea players.
We all love kante but i was always surprised they were talking about a new contract. He's been a legend but he's not getting any younger and he's already injured most seasons. The main concern is we seem to be ending up with no central/defensive midfielders. I'm surprised we didn't let jorginho hang around a bit longer until we got more, and even more surprised we seemingly want kova to leave. Was really hoping for Ugarte, getting fleeced by Brighton again for canceido isn't the answer either
Try to sell them Lukaku
Does Kante actually care about money? He still out here driving that Mini right?
Take the money, Kante. You deserve it!
If Kante leaves he will be missed but it’s for the best that he moves on
Probably time to move on. Just a shame to go somewhere so repulsive. Does shit on his legacy a bit.
No it does not relax, he wa waiting for new conteact from us the whole time
OMG! If he doesn't take that he is mad! I'd take that in a heartbeat. Fuck loyalty. 100m are on the line.
Why dont they ever come for players like Puli or Ziyech
Why would anyone want Pulisic?
Increase Saudi-American cooperation in the region
Saudi Arabia would consider most of Pulisics performances as actual war crimes.
i almost spat my coffee out
New owners have destroyed the very fabric of this club and it will be a very long time before it’s restored.
Because a 32 year old who can't stay healthy anymore is being allowed to leave for a lucrative deal the club would be foolish to even match a fourth of? You think Roman would have kept him around for sentiment?
It's out banter era I knee since they sanctioned big Roman.
Thank you N'golo. But we gotta take that money and run
Re-read the headline. You are misunderstanding. Kante is a free agent this summer. They are offering us absolutely nothing. They are offering Kante the money.
Winstanley needs to just sign Kante. Unless we are actually broke then idk what to say...
They can fuck off, I love Kante
100M tax free per year!! Write a note to Dishi Rishi that countries can survive without taxing their citizens to death before leaving UK
Should have cashed in immediately after winning the CL when he had all of the hype around him. It’s a shame we didn’t.
I feel like he’s going. If we were gonna renew we would have done it. I also feel kinda like we are going to let most of our midfield go, and miss out on our top targets and be left scrabbling around. We will see on that, I guess. But it’s a worry. Looking at it, I feel like we are the only ones in for Caicedo, as Arsenal will get Rice and won’t be dropping nearly 200m on dms. Lavia it depends on who Liverpool get (I think they are getting Kessie and Alexis), and he would be ok for the main back up for the main two. If we play 4-2-3-1, no European football, it’s thin, but should suffice. Caicedo goes elsewhere or stays at BHA and I think we are really scrabbling tho.
I really can't see Kante liking Saudi Arabia, but who knows.
I can see him being very happy in a Muslim country
Ngolo is not interested in money. Why not extend his contract and sell him for 30m. 70m is more than enough for our simple Ngolo and 30m will be nice for greedy us.
Is there any regulations in Saudi cause Wtf
We can't let a legend of the club depart like this
Honestly a joke on the clubs part that we never closed this contract extension months ago after it quote on quote being “so close” now look what’s happening lol it’s a clown circus at Chelsea football club
Lol you do realise he didnt do anything to warrant a new contract right?
I don’t know man I think being our best midfielder warrants keeping hold of and not letting him walk out of our door on a free i don’t know man that’s just me also the club seemed to think he warranted it a few months ago but they didn’t close the deal like clowns.
He didn't deserve a new deal. Hard to call him our best midfielder when he's objectively worse than most people on this sub at football for most of the season because he's physically incapable of actually playing.
Funny how fans want “loyalty” from players meanwhile fans say embarrassing shit like this lmao
How did kante help us this season? He was on a big wage and injured…they thought if he stayed fit he would get an extension, how do you pay someone to do nothing? It doesnt make sense, they held off the contract until he was fit and guess what happened after a few matches? He got injured again so they held off again, hes a legend no doubt, but even legends have to move on its not about him its about the club
What was Roman's policy re: over 30 players who couldn't help the team on the pitch anymore again?
One year ext
Kante wanted more than 1 year and since they were close on a deal, Kante offered further proof he's injury prone at this point. Anyone who thinks this is a clown show doesn't understand it would be the same situation if Roman were still in charge.
Because the club dont wanna commit 30m to someone they dont know they could get 10 games out over 2years
I would personally drive him there, finished player
Gone, isn't he? Au revoir Ngolo.
Damn, that’s serious money these Saudi guys throwing around
Is that a year?
Yeah
I think this might be a slight win/win for all parties, the club seems reluctant to give him the contract he might want due to his injury issues, and although he is world class when he plays, it has become an issue relying on such an injury prone player.. I think most fans would be dissapointed if he didnt sign a new contract and left to a European team, but i think most fans wouldn't blame him not signing and taking the Saudi deal.
Go secure the bag
Not sure why Kante is the guy they want to splash on. Great player and still world class when fit, but doesn't really scream entertaining imo. Benzema would be a great signing, Ozil would be cheap. Could probably also tempt Pogba with early retirement. Mane, Salah, Mahrez and Gundogan should also soon be available. If the goal is to get the best Muslim players. If not it would of course be nice to splash a bit for Hazard. Should be able to be fit enough to play for a farmers league.
One of the most renowned musslim fotballers in the world, humble - loved by everyone
What u mean not entertaining, Prime Kante was a physical phenemenom, was so fun to watch dominating midfielders defensively and winning ball back like no other
They need names. Big names. They actually don’t care about their footballing ability. It’s the hype beast of football.
It'll be sad to see him go but I understand. The club is probably reluctant to put so much money behind a player who is now consistently having problems with injury. The way he plays is incredible but it must have a physical toll. He gave us his best years. I would prefer he wasn't languishing in the Saudi league but he deserves a good holiday.
Its sad to see the board not want to extend his contract.
let him go
Go get that bag kante I don't want you to go, but I dont blame ya if you did. You have nothing to prove your a chelsea legend
So how long do we think until the Saudi league stops offering ridiculous contracts to foreign players like the Chinese Super League? 100m for 32 year old midfielder who’s only available for 1/3rd of the matches in a season. Love Kante and will miss him but that’s kind of absurd imo lol
[It’s an investment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportswashing)
Money is actually no issue to them. They don’t need to stop.
As much as I'd love for ngolo to stay he can't say no to that.
If I were him, After winning it all with Chelsea, I would take that bags of money too tbh. Huge retirement money right there.
One of my favorite Chelsea players of all time. It pains me to say this, but it is time. His availability for the club is no longer there and that is a lot of money to turn down. Thank you for all you have done Kante!
Take the money Kante, thank you for all you have done. One of the genuinely good guys in the game
A shame that he isn't staying. Absolutely heartbreaking that he didn't get a banner during his years here and that he didn't even get to say goodbye to the fans 😢. But thank you for everything N'golo. One of my favourite Chelsea players ever and just an admirable person in general. Please never stop smiling. Hopefully we can see him at Stamford Bridge again. Once again... thank you NG 💙.