CNN Indonesia
Wednesday, 02 Aug 2023 14:08 WIB
Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag is relaxed about the moves by Saudi Arabian clubs to tempt top players. (REUTERS/TONY OBRIEN)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Coach Manchester United Erik ten Hag choosing to relax unlike Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp who are afraid of the exodus of European players to Saudi Arabian clubs.
A number of star players have flocked to various Saudi Arabian clubs. Karim Benzema, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Jordan Henderson are some of the big names who have moved to Saudi Arabia.
Seeing this phenomenon, Ten Hag admitted that he was not worried. According to him, it is natural for players to move closer to Saudi if they see the offer given.
“I think Europe is taking a hit because there is money in [Arab Saudi] there and it will interest players. But I don’t see this as a problem in the Premier League,” Ten Hag said as quoted by the Mirror, Wednesday (2/8).
“Because the Premier League is a league where big players want to compete. This is not the same competition as America or Saudi Arabia,” he added.
Ten Hag’s statement differs 180 degrees from Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola. There was concern that Pep felt after one of his players, Riyad Mahrez, chose to move to Al Ahli.
“This is not about threats, this is reality. They are building a strong league and so far they can do it. The Premier League can spend big because their organization is better and the income is also high,” said Pep.
“Now with the state of the Saudi Arabian League, I don’t know how long they can maintain that. But now the players want to gain experience to play there. Saudi Arabia has changed the market,” said Pep.
Concerns were also expressed by Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp. The tactician from Germany even asked FIFA to monitor the movements of the Saudi Arabian League following the massive transfer of players to that country.
“It’s huge. Maybe the worst thing in my opinion is that the Saudi Arabian transfer market has been open for three weeks longer. UEFA or FIFA have to find a solution for this,” Klopp said as quoted by the Daily Mail.
(ikw/jal)
