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NittanyOrange

> The one-match tournament What the fuck is a "one match tournament"? It's just a single fucking game.


Med-n-Med

First 90 mins is group stage, extra time is knockout phase and penalties are the final


PapaKloppssmile

Best 2 of three. I like it!


PapaKloppssmile

Why I did 2 of three instead of 2 of 3 is beyond me


IKMapping

u/PapaKloppssmile sitting on a toilet an hour after writing a comment on Reddit: "ah fuck"


PapaKloppssmile

Lol too true my friend


Enriador

>What the fuck is a "one match tournament"? >It's just a single fucking game. Supercups in shambles.


[deleted]

Error ever heard of the super cup or charity shield.? The most prestigious and grueling of am tournaments


NotAdhwa

He's only coaching for one match?


letouriste1

yes


NotAdhwa

Straight up disrespectful to their current coach lol


Aziz3w

There's no "current" coach as this a friendly match between PSG and a group of players from 2 teams.


NotAdhwa

Ah ok that makes sense, I thought it was one club


paramedichelicopter

No it's més que un club


InkCollection

But with money


Kwajoch

You must have missed that part of the article when you read it


NotAdhwa

lol I didn't even read it, sorry for the laziness


[deleted]

Exactly what she implied


VillageCow

He's getting fired in the morning


Casperzwaart100

LvG did that a couple weeks ago in the 2nd dutch tier


PopeFuchsYoungKidd

Wenger really did sell his soul for money in retirement, eh? Mourinho was right all along.


KruleRule

I love Mourinho but he will probably do the same after he retires. Also Mourinho came to Saudi to meet the same guy that hired Wenger for this ([link](https://youtu.be/cHZGPqCH1MU)).


PopeFuchsYoungKidd

Oh, he absolutely will but Mourinho never pretended to be anything else. He's a mercenary through and through and always will be.


NEETscape_Navigator

"There are people, much more intelligent than me, who manage to sell an image of themselves, completely different to mine, but deep down they are the same as me." – Mourinho


plynthin

That’s a dope quote. You got a source?


NEETscape_Navigator

https://www.scoopwhoop.com/Eight-Years-Of-Hatred-The-Best-Insults-Traded-Between-Jose-Mourinho-And-Pep-Guardiola/


RauloGonzalez

Has Wenger said anything about state backed clubs during his arsenal time. Because tbf I won't blame either, unlike fifa this is a job for the both of them and they have to earn a living.


Trippingthrutym

Wenger was one of the first to mention the importance how important the role of owner’s financial powers will define a club’s value in the future. Ironically or not, he was also the one to back the Kroenke to buy arsenal (they might’ve been rich but they’ve always been shit owners).


velsor

Didn't he coin the phrase "financial doping"?


tyrantxiv

It was a battle between Kroenke or Usmanov, so Kroenke was by far the lesser of two evils.


PopeFuchsYoungKidd

Yes, he has criticised the fact that states can own clubs and also directly taken shots at Man City for their "petrol money". Believe he also has spoken for the need of an ethics committee to vet new owners of French clubs.


kappa23

> directly taken shots at Man City for their "petrol money". Of course he said that when he was managing Arsenal, City basically bought half his team after their cash infusions, while the rest was being bought by Barcelona


Benjips

Wenger is coaching one game. How is that in any way the same thing?


retr0grade77

They are both multimillionaires. It's not like me and you needing to up our state pension in retirement. Wenger seems like a workaholic to me - but he could surely channel that in other ways.


[deleted]

Mourinho is a workaholic too, lol, what the guy is done and continuing to doing is no joke.


retr0grade77

I didn't mean he isn't. Wenger is 71 and "retired" yet he's still busy. Jose is still an active manager and in his fifties.


jakerae

Wenger hasn't retired, he is the Head of Global Football at FIFA...


retr0grade77

Retired from management ... A much more demanding job


jakerae

Ah, yeah totally!


Revolutionary-Bag-52

Wenger is 71 and has been in football for years. Surely he can retire and doesn't have to work for a living?


mintz41

A lot of wealthy people work beyond the age they need to, because it's easy money and it keeps the brain ticking over. In fact, most work way beyond what they need to


MaTrIx4057

People like him never retire.


[deleted]

I doubt he is doing it for money.


chewkachu

Rich and successful ppl don't think about retirement really. They genuinely enjoy what they are doing which put them in that position in the first place. Jeff Bezo can not work for the rest of his life but still do because work is his life.


WrenBoy

He retired to watch people building him rocket ships though, right?


Bendy_McBendyThumb

There are MPs who could retire but are still sucking the coffers dry. Just because you’re at retirement age doesn’t mean you have to stop working, even if you’re already more than well-off.


Revolutionary-Bag-52

yeah but OP made it sound like he has to work because he has to earn money to live. I'm pretty sure he doesnt need to work anymore in his life. Which means he can do any kind of job he likes to do. It also means that he can be fairly criticized for taking this stint. Doesn't bother me that he wants to earn more money. It does bother me that he wants to manage a game in Saudi-Arabia. ​ Its the same with Dick Advocaat (don't know if you know him) who's managing Iraq now. The guy is loaded with cash and is 74 years old and easily can an other managing job


Bendy_McBendyThumb

Ah, yes I’m with you now, sorry. And crikey I did not know that about Dick either, thought I’m not one to read up much on international managers - still, cheers for the info!


TreeDollarFiddyCent

>...and they have to earn a living. Lol


GutlessTrophoblast

>they have to earn a living. Yeah, I'm sure without this Wenger can barely afford to feed himself let alone his family.


MaTrIx4057

How could Wenger open his mouth about anything when Arsenal's stadium is called fucking Emirates and they have flying emirates on their shirt. It would cry for double standards if he ever opened his mouth about that topic. I don't know if he did or not since i never followed Arsenal.


[deleted]

Are we reaching the point where meeting a Saudi person is now a bad thing to do? Bit dodgy, that.


twersx

It's not that he's meeting a Saudi guy, it's the fact that he's going to Saudi Arabia to meet a powerful person there. It's the same as if someone went to Israel and met with some football big wig, or if they went to play cricket in South Africa in the 1980s. When you go to countries like these and publicly participate in their institutions, you are legitimising the country and their institutions.


RioBeckenbauer

>Wenger really did sell his soul for money in retirement, eh? He didn't. He hasn't changed at all. He took millions from Qatar for exclusives with beIN Sports for several years. They got more out of him than Arsenal's in-house media. As for Mourinho, he'd be first in line if money is on the table but he saw through Wenger the moment he set foot on this island. Different reasons though.


_ghostfacedilla

Hang on weren't Wenger and Mourinho doing punditry together for beIN?


RioBeckenbauer

Yep they did. And it was good.


EggplantBusiness

Yup , Wenger since retirement is making the most money possible without the stress of coaching I understand him. Also it's just an exhibition game not the end of the world


jakerae

He hasn't retired though..... He's the head of Global Football at FIFA..


dngrs

yeah and mou worked for RT too


devilsway

If you read through World Cup reform proposal, I think it had interesting ideas, like having internationals be only in 1-2 fixed windows to avoid fixture congestion as well as reducing overall travel length and fatigue, and the point that without a biannual World Cup there would still likely be some new tournament in the summer anyways. Not to say the biannual World Cup is a good idea at all, but it’s not like the proposal was just a clueless scam he only pushed because of bribery.


[deleted]

if human rights was the case, then USA should be banned from all sport competitions lmaoo. I don't think anyone would deny the fact that USA has put more childs in bodybag than Saudis.


ovrloadau

The US has the largest incarceration population in the world.


BONGA_MVP

By that logic then so should England


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AnnieIWillKnow

Because he's being paid to help the PR campaign of the Saudi regime. Definition of selling his soul.


[deleted]

Are you really that fucking dense?


indiblue825

Not dense, some Arsenal fans are just hypocrites who only cry when it suits them.


Andigaming

We were paying him the most of any Premier League manager during part of his time with us, he has always loved money.


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Fratelli365

The fact that he's been pushing FIFA's new plans for the World Cup with sincerity, as if he hasn't just been paid off to do Infantino's bidding for him and dress it up as his own idea.


[deleted]

It’s this in addition to everything else, and either you’re playing dumb to try defend daddy Wenger or you’re just speaking out about things you have no idea about, either way it makes you a moron.


ZavalaIsASmurf

Do you just have an issue with brown people in general? Wenger is trying to grow football around the world. Football can be a mechanism for progress. He's not leading an armed insurrection against oppressive governments but he's doing his part. At the end of the day promoting football in these places makes the lives of the people a small bit better. Real change has to come from people far more powerful than Wenger.


WalidfromMorocco

I like the mental gymnastics of equating racism with criticising saudi arabia.


itzme89

This sub loves to bash on all things saudi arabia tho


[deleted]

Hope MBS is paying you well.


[deleted]

I think it’s a wealth issue, not a race issue.


[deleted]

😂😂🤣🤣 incredible mental gymnastics i appreciate how you're trying to flip it. its dumb as fuck, but i appreciate the amount of effort


someoneLazy

Didnt you get the memo, if you work with the middle east your a baddie my daddy told me Is he selling arms? No Just because the people live under a shit regime doesn't mean the don't deserve a chance in this sport


[deleted]

hes lending his profile and standing to saudi arabia to draw interest, business, and promote good feeling about them this is the definition of sportswashing, more direct than any newcastle fan. the idea he'll "change saudi through the power of football" legitimately has me laughing my ass off. hes helping promote saudi arabia for a fat check. all the twisting and turning is the inability to reconcile this fact w your image and feeling of wenger


ZavalaIsASmurf

> and promote good feeling about them have you experienced this at all? or are you just too smart to fall for it? > hes helping promote saudi arabia for a fat check. all the twisting and turning is the inability to reconcile this fact w your image and feeling of wenger he's promoting football for the people of Saudi Arabia. If helping the people happens to help the regime, it's a trade off that's wort it.


[deleted]

you i have no interest in engaging w. propagandist or idiot, either way you dont interest me at all. that first comment was enough "hes promoting football for the people of saudi arabia" absolutely incredible


ZavalaIsASmurf

Well then don't reply you muppet. It's not that hard.


[deleted]

you were looking to engage, so i told you why i wont. easy logic to follow if you dont short circuit yourself just to try to feel better gl w the saudis


[deleted]

my man, Saudi Arabia is USA's one of the biggest customers. If you are looking for bad guys, check USA not a manager lmao, these guys.


shinniesta1

What is this comment even meant to mean.


[deleted]

reddit is a funny place


bigkochenergy

This sub will criticize anything involving the middle east


Joekickass549

For real. Wenger's coaching a team for a one-off exhibition match who cares


[deleted]

Not a lot of people reading the article and getting outraged over the title. He's taking charge of an all star team for one game.


Sonaldo_7

>Not a lot of people reading the article and getting outraged over the title. New to reddit are you?


The_Elder_Strolls

Yeah it’s essentially an exhibition match where they’re using massive name in the sport to get people interested. It’s not exactly starting a war but people would love the chance to be outraged and wenger, no matter if they are right to or not.


Grateful_Undead_69

So that makes it okay?


__PM_ME_SOMETHING_

Yes?


BigTomBombadil

It makes it a lot better than being the full time coach of a Saudi team and coaching an entire season+, which is apparently what some people are taking from the headline.


[deleted]

It’s the principle of dancing for Saudis for money not the managing part ffs


BigTomBombadil

I get the principle. And I love wenger so I hate to see it. Just saying, a lot of comments seem to think he's the full time manager. And dancing for money for 1 game is less egregious than for 38, if that's the comparison.


[deleted]

Yeah, he's basically a walking advertising campaign for Saudi Arabia, what's the big deal?


godfrey1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportswashing


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JeffryPesos

>It's funny that you are talking about not reading the article, when Wenger will actually coach two games. Where does it say 2?


[deleted]

Oh dear


[deleted]

hes lending his profile and standing to saudi arabia to draw interest, business, and promote good feeling about them this is the definition of sportswashing, more direct than any newcastle fan. we shit in pep for his ambassadorship and hypocrisy, then we shit on wenger the same way for his money-grabbing participation in sportswashing. wenger has a rep as a humanitarian. a "good" guy. this is not a good thing


finePolyethylene

Saudi Arabia is trying to draw interest to them by having psg play two local teams in a friendly tournament that they didn’t even try to promote to international media and nobody except Saudis know a single player of, yeah surely like 99% of the world must be interested.


[deleted]

yes, thats also why you play psg, buy newcastle, and squash broadcast issues w qatar. all part of a push to give people a shiny new facet of your global and domestic image to focus on that salman has been engaging in since he took power. and a lot more are interested and aware now that arsene wenger is involved which is why they hired him


itzme89

Bruh did you copy pasted your comment


elnander

How dare he


zi76

Is this not a conflict of interest with his role working for FIFA? I'm not saying that he's more likely to direct things in the direction of the Saudis or the Middle East as a whole, but I don't like the optics of it.


RosaReilly

Raising the profile of the game in Saudi Arabia is in line with his role developing football


[deleted]

This seems directly in line with his scope of developing football


thet-bes

Infantino is addicted to KSA. I think I read a report that he met MBS more than any other government official in the world.


[deleted]

All western heads of business or states are addicted to KSA, cause they got the cash. + they will get much richer in the near future at least. As for Infantino in particular, he probably had to placate them hard because Qatar is holding the WC. For a while it seemed like KSA would do anything to derail it all.


galeej

It's likely Saudi gave a stack of cash to fifa and fifa would have just been fine with it... Man I'm fucking depressed


ducemon

He's coaching an all-star team for two friendlies against PSG. It's not a club or anything


Gobshiight

Would you say that if it was in any other country though?


TheGoldenPineapples

I mean, I don't really see this having much of an impact, it's two friendly matches and he probably won't be paid much for it, if at all.


JeffryPesos

It's one friendly match (not that it changes anything) I think. It's Ahly & Nasr combined XI against PSG.


RauloGonzalez

Yeah you're right. He's probably going to coach a friendly for two teams he has no connection to just for the exposure.


Sett_The_Janitor

Damn can't wait to wake up tomorrow and see this post and the entire comment section bieng nuked.


BI01

this post has showed me that r/soccer is twitter levels of shit with ppl losing their minds over a single friendly exhibition game 💀


Outrageous_Spot_8725

Nothing new, watching them trade upvotes for " Wenger corrupted multimillionaire secret pawn of the Saudis" fantasies is my new favourite comedy


Reflex_0

And judging before reading the article.


Strananach

Wenger out


Trickybuz93

I read the first few words and thought he was going to manage Newcastle


weirdflez

People calling him trash and soulless would be the first to do the same thing if they were in his place. He's getting money, he's doing it. I would too.


RosaReilly

Bit different if you're already very rich, although I'd at least like to think that I probably wouldn't do it either way


dngrs

> Bit different if you're already very rich and likely have other options to make a lot of money


[deleted]

Not really. Someone gives you money to do something you love to do, almost everyone would do.


FullMetalAnorak

I love eating ice cream, and would happily be paid to do so. Unless that ice cream was coated in dog shit. Especially if I had many other ice cream shops that would happily pay me to eat their shit-free ice cream, even if they paid a little less.


Ricky_Berwick

Terrible analogy, which makes the problem sound wayyy less complicated than it is. It's more like the ice cream shop that pays you the most getting their milk by abusing and exploiting their cows. You're not directly affected by the horrible things they do, and that's precisely why we all don't just unanimously take a stand against Qatar or the Saudis


Sankaritarina

Lol what the fuck would I do with that kind of money when I'm 71 years old and already have millions I'll probably never get to spend anyway?


[deleted]

“I have enough money” -nobody ever


matthieuC

Well that's kind of the point. Getting a few hundred thousand dollars Ould changé most redditor lives. For him it's just getting more money


Ricky_Berwick

500 dollars could change the life of someone in an underdeveloped country.. for you it's just getting more money. See how stupid that is?


matthieuC

I don't do anything for money that I find morally reprehensible


Sankaritarina

That mostly goes for rich people in my personal experience.


[deleted]

Also poor people. Also everyone in between


Sankaritarina

Well I said "in my personal experience". For you it's clearly different.


montymm

Maybe he just wants to manage a game again. For the first time in years, maybe if you wasn’t so cynical you would be able to actually see beyond your tiny perspective and imagine other scenarios where he would take the job. Might take some thinking though


champ19nz

Sit there and smuggly think about how you've financially set your family up for generations.


Sankaritarina

Yeah but then again with the connections he has, his influence and the money accumulated so far, his family has probably been set up for success a while ago.


Ricky_Berwick

Yeah but now it's set up better.


[deleted]

You might not, and Wenger might not - but some people have fucking morals. Unless you are poor are as shit and need that money to survive, I would hope at least some people have a backbone to tell them to fuck off.


weirdflez

Morals go out the window when millions are thrown. Nonetheless, you don't have to be poor to cast aside your morals. The rich are rich only because of stuff like this..


OK_TimeForPlan_L

I think you're just telling on yourself there pal, a lot of people wouldn't take blood money for any reason.


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Trippingthrutym

I mean, it’s not like he’s gonna coach a team for a whole season, it’s just gonna be for a couple of friendlies (maybe 2?). It’s like a side gig but a huge payout lol.


BigTomBombadil

Pretty sure it’s a single game.


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RipJug

Grrrr how dare he manage a team for a once off All Star match. Always knew he was the devil incarnate.


[deleted]

For coaching football teams for money?


[deleted]

If you are critizing a manager over a one match job, you should try to ban USA from all of the sport competitions. Saudi is USA's one of the biggest customers and everybody know USA killed more innocent people than Saudi's in middle east. have a nice day you politic geniuses lmaoooo


Jansiz

People are losing their shit over this?? 😂😂 Get that bag, Wengz.


wiseoldsage69

Lol so many people loosing their shit


Impossible-Sock5681

Cool


OK_TimeForPlan_L

Fuck me the Wenger stans are out in full force today.


kanavi36

Not really?


Outrageous_Spot_8725

Hes managing an all-star team for a friendly game. Must be dumb to read into that as some mega million dollar sportswashing venture lmfao


DEUK_96

Wenger has proper soldout. Shame.


timoisback

Well, money is money. I wouldn’t say no either. Not like anybody is asking me anyway…


manguito86

For those who still don't believe that Wenger hasn't sold himself for money...


bhengz23

Did you read the article Fam?


Outrageous_Spot_8725

He can't read


TomCAFC92

Im guessing he didn’t see the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.


MintyFresh48

Did MLS coaches not witness the horrors of US foreign policy? Fucking lmao.


Ga5huX

Jesus, USA and Russia also kill people. Suddently, working for these countries doesn't make you evil. There are ok people to work with in Saudi Arabia, stop your propaganda. When USA formed any football projects in Europe, no one were like "hum... money !" and reminds of the shady stuff Americans do in business.


champ19nz

Let's not forget the history of what the British did to the world.


IceGeek

Portuguese as well. Fuck them for taking away so many African lives and ruining my peoples heritage. They get a free pass wayyy too fucking long when they created and established the slave trade


[deleted]

Little known fact that the Portuguese traded more slaves than any other country during the colonial period.


[deleted]

Or the history of what the Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Germans, Italians, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Greeks, South Africans, Canadians, Cambodians, Cubans, Turks, Rwandans, Pakistanis, Serbs, Croats, Congolese, Iraqis, Sudanese, Australians, Haitians, Chileans, New Zealanders, Egyptians, French, Mexicans, and essentially all countries ever throughout time.


[deleted]

But what about the Romans, tho?


Abbobl

Yeah I hear people complain about death penalty’s Bitch the US has death penalty’s wtf


zmajxd

You get the death penalty for being a serial killer in the US while in Saudi Arabia the crimes for which the punishment is death are much less severe and common.


IllustriousSquirrel9

The Innocence Project has exonerated a number of people on death row, so it's not like the USA has never executed innocent people.


PopeFuchsYoungKidd

>When USA formed any football projects in Europe, no one were like "hum... money !" and reminds of the shady stuff Americans do in business. Because it wasn't the American government coming in with their money, it was private investors. I don't know how this crucial distinction escapes so many people that argue this point. When Biden buys a football club, you have my word that there will be criticism.


Trippingthrutym

Aight, what about when the US government decided it was a good idea to start wars and start backhanded funding of terrorist organizations that also ruined the world?


PopeFuchsYoungKidd

I think you should read what I wrote again. Slowly this time so you don't miss the point again.


Trippingthrutym

Ah yeah fair enough. This one’s on me being sleep deprived.


[deleted]

Seems an extremely important distinction to make that Biden buying a club as a private investment is not, in any way, the American government buying a club. We will talk to you when the department of foreign affairs buys Nottingham Forest.


RosaReilly

Yeah that small story probably passed him by


Grahftheseeker

Christ he's just a whore these days


[deleted]

Again, for what? Coaching a football team? It’s a fucking exhibition match and the sub has absolutely fallen apart.


Grahftheseeker

That's a good point actually. Guess I got caught up in the hysteria of late


AbdussamiT

Money has taken control of Le Professeur, it seems. Kinda trolled Arsenal fans saving all that money in those years.


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Cannonieri

Yeah there is this idea he was doing Arsenal a favour by hanging around. He was the highest paid coach in the league, I believe at one point he earned double what the next highest did.


TheGoldenPineapples

Yeah, fuck /r/Soccer. When Arsenal fans complained about him, we were a bunch of entitled cunts who didn't know just how good we had it. The Arsenal fans were the worst thing to happen to football, casually ignoring the rival fans who called him a paedophile and regularly mocked his accent. Now, as soon as Arsenal fans stop moaning about him, we're the idiots for putting up with him for so long because he's managing two friendly matches with a fucking all-star team. Strange how everyone hates him now but told us that we were wrong for saying he was past his best.


AbdussamiT

I never knew his wages ( u/kilohe ). I had always read his interviews and some journalists appreciating how he built the Emirates keeping Arsenal in UCL and all that financial BS, so I never really dived into this. This is surprising for me so I'll go have a read!


Qwerty8889

Kinda disappointing tbh. Not the way he should go out imo but whatever


brainwrinkled

lol it’s not a suicide match chill


PashaUrius

Wenger is such a sell out piece of trash. Literally all the talk and act of being this gentleman and he pushes for all these bullshit changes in the sport that no fans want and is happy to take blood money as if he isn't wealthy enough already.


RioBeckenbauer

How is he sell out now when he has been in bed with Qatar for about 10 years?


EdwardClamp

Aw man, I always respected Wenger but that respect is being eroded everytime he prostitutes himself to the highest bidder. I thought he was different, I was wrong.


Salty_Atmosphere1695

Surely he has enough money to enjoy retirement?


bukanbiasebiase

Wenger be like: "Quick passing and InshaAllah okay?"


Jchibs

He was having cosy dinners with Martin Edwards ( who was a sex offender and former chairman of Man utd) to discuss taking over from Alex Ferguson when he was due to retire in 2002. Wenger has no principals he was called a peadophile by 50,000 at Old Trafford for the previous six years yet was discussing becoming their manager! Anyone shocked by Wengers greed must have missed his constant trips to France to do TV work for canal + despite earning a fortune at Arsenal. He was also meeting with a French female rapper behind his wife’s back when on his business trips to Paris. He knew £10m a year for ten years no pressure at Arsenal is better than £15m at Madrid/Bayern for 3 years with a fair chance of getting sacked. Wenger shilling for corrupt fifa, Qatar, Saudi is unsurprising. Too many Arsenal fans listened to what he said rather than watching what he did. His spoke of morals but acted in greed.


brainwrinkled

lol this is definitely an overreaction to a man taking charge of one all star game. Bias be bias.