Arsene Wenger: State-Run Clubs Isn’t Healthy For Football

By The Editor
on 15th August 2017

Arsene Wenger has a warning about football ownership…

Arsene Wenger was a guest at the Football Writers’ Association live charity event for the victims of Grenfell Tower, and the boss was asked to speak on Neymar’s high profile move to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Brazilian joined the French giants for almost £200million, almost double the previous world record fee which was set last summer when Paul Pogba joined Manchester United.

Wenger informed the audience that the size of a football club is no longer decided by their illustrious history or huge following, but by the financial power of their owners.

The Frenchman stated that while we’ve been used to billionaire businessmen owning football clubs, we’re in an era of state-run clubs with Manchester City and PSG owned by figures close to the Qatari royal family.

“The size of a club was decided by the number of people who went to the stadium,” Wenger explained.

“We’ve added something in the last 10 years, the ownership has moved abroad.

“Sometimes to billionaires, and sometimes to governments – to states. They have financial power and they can decide at any moment, ‘yes, we can buy Neymar for 300 million’.

“Is it healthy? No, not really.

“What I love in football is that it’s a team sport, what all that brings in is that it’s more about individuals.”

While Wenger shares a close relationship with Nasser El-Khelaifi – with the boss even advising the Bein Sports owner on his PSG takeover – he seems rather disgusted by the whole concept.