Football Leaks: UEFA Investigation into Manchester City

Cantona's Collars

Taken from a piece written on how the hearts and minds are being bought.

"The council were advised to not get in bed with Abu Dhabi by human rights campaigners. Sir Richard Leese and Sir Howard Bernstein rejected this recommendation, defending them as 'business people' and ignoring their human rights abuses.

Last year, Sir Howard Bernstein retired from the council and was employed by Abu Dhabi to oversee the project which he'd green lit.

I'm not saying that's corrupt, but it absolutely probably 100% is.

Manchester has a proud history of supporting the working classes and even Abraham Lincoln and the fight against slavery.

Indeed, Peterloo, an account of the murders of protesters at a mass pro-democracy protest in Manchester, has just been released at the cinemas. A film, which received its world premiere at a special LFF screening in Manchester, is now being championed by a city who sold itself out to a repressive, oil-rich state.

I'm sure Howard Bernstein sleeps in extreme comfort.

Richard Leese continues to sell off publicly owned spaces in Manchester to property developers from outside of the city and across the world. There's no suggestion that he profits from this personally, but he did get arrested for hitting a 16-year old girl in the face. So you wouldn't put corruption beyond his moral code or lack of.

Football aside, this is shameful.

Sadly, this is not uncommon in a city which seems determined to exchange its history and values for foreign investment.

A Labour council in name only.

They don't give a feck about FFP or dodgy sponsorship deals.

Looking past who this people are for short-term riches is intrinsically un-Mancunian.

The Citizens indeed."

Cantona's Collars

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbymcmahon/2018/03/19/has-manchester-city-offloaded-100m-of-expenses-on-to-new-york-city-fc-and-melbourne-city-fc/#45bf093730a4

City offloading expenses to other clubs it controls in more creative bookkeeping.

UrbanFret

Cantona's Collars wrote: »

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbymcmahon/2018/03/19/has-manchester-city-offloaded-100m-of-expenses-on-to-new-york-city-fc-and-melbourne-city-fc/#45bf093730a4

City offloading expenses to other clubs it controls in more creative bookkeeping.

Shocking stuff. How do us City fans sleep at night.

UrbanFret

UrbanFret wrote: »

Shocking stuff. How do us City fans sleep at night.

With a smile on your face laughing at rivals I'd imagine :pac:

Agent Coulson

UrbanFret wrote: »

Shocking stuff. How do us City fans sleep at night.

Better than the migrant/slave workers in Qatar I'd imagine.

TitianGerm

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Better than the migrant/slave workers in Qatar I'd imagine.

Sure they'd be wrecked after a day of toiling in the sun so they'd get a great sleep

Drumpot

I just listened to a money laundering seminar for my job and they mentioned people now using football clubs to launder dirty money. Russian and middle eastern investors was mentioned.. It’s weird listening to what’s usually a boring Irish slant on the topic , having interesting examples.... Barcelona and Chelsea (Abramovich)were mentioned specifically...

It’s funny cause it’s not like any of this is news to anybody. But it shows how quickly these shady owners can integrate into football and once accepted they are considered honest or fair. The process of money laundering is effectively trying to legitimize dirty money. These guys are using football clubs to legimise themselves aswell....

I just presume people who brand this “bitter” don’t have a clue what we are talking about and presume we are making stuff up. Kind of like Trumps “fake news” response to anything he doesn’t want to address in an open manner.

Mushy

Drumpot wrote: »

I just listened to a money laundering seminar for my job and they mentioned people now using football clubs to launder dirty money. Russian and middle eastern investors was mentioned.. It’s weird listening to what’s usually a boring Irish slant on the topic , having interesting examples.... Barcelona and Chelsea (Abramovich)were mentioned specifically...

That Luiz deal to PSG and back, if that wasn't money laundering I'd eat my hat

gimli2112

Mushy wrote: »

That Luiz deal to PSG and back, if that wasn't money laundering I'd eat my hat

even in a world of crazy this beggared belief.

ozzy jr

I can see why Abramovich would be money laundering, but I would of though the Arabs or Qataris wouldn't have needed to as they're the ruling families in their country. Why would they need a football club to wash their money? Surely they can do it in the comfort of their own country, away from prying eyes.

Maybe someone with a better understanding can explain.

marklazarcovic

Also,why would a multi billionaire launder 50 mill on a dumb transfer, must be a bigger scale than that.

UrbanFret

ozzy jr wrote: »

I can see why Abramovich would be money laundering, but I would of though the Arabs or Qataris wouldn't have needed to as they're the ruling families in their country. Why would they need a football club to wash their money? Surely they can do it in the comfort of their own country, away from prying eyes.

Maybe someone with a better understanding can explain.

There's nothing to explain. They don't need to launder anything. It's not the mafia we're talking about here.;)

IncognitoMan

Chelsea paid Christensen's father £656,640 in what looks like a sweetener to get his son to the club. The payments started the same time as Christensen joined.


https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/nov/15/chelsea-accused-andreas-christensen-father

Adamcp898

Mushy wrote: »

That Luiz deal to PSG and back, if that wasn't money laundering I'd eat my hat

Paulinho going to Barca from Guangzhou Evergrande for a year and back took the biscuit for me. And it will be for a profit too.

Adamcp898

ozzy jr wrote: »

I can see why Abramovich would be money laundering, but I would of though the Arabs or Qataris wouldn't have needed to as they're the ruling families in their country. Why would they need a football club to wash their money? Surely they can do it in the comfort of their own country, away from prying eyes.

Maybe someone with a better understanding can explain.

It's not just the act of legitimising potentially 'dirty' money so that it can be used for a wider range of purposes. As you point out that can be done much more inconspicuously.

But it also transfers the money to a different jurisdiction/country as well as sometimes tying it up in an asset like property at the same time, which may be enough to put it out of the reach of some authority should they ever come knocking at the door

For the middle Eastern ruling families that do it, it also serves the purpose of increasing their 'soft power' in an area of the world, increasing their influence.

gimli2112

marklazarcovic wrote: »

Also,why would a multi billionaire launder 50 mill on a dumb transfer, must be a bigger scale than that.

it's probably why it looks so odd.
"Ok let's do it but use a small number so it doesn't raise suspicion"
"How about £50M?"
"OK"

rob316

Their is dirt on every single club, if you look hard enough.

rob316

UrbanFret wrote: »

Shocking stuff. How do us City fans sleep at night.

Laughing your bollox off at united

ozzy jr

rob316 wrote: »

Laughing your bollox off at united

Yes, they go to bed at night thinking of Manchester United and they wake up in the morning thinking about Manchester United

Drumpot

rob316 wrote: »

Their is dirt on every single club, if you look hard enough.

That’s like absolving somebody killing or raping by saying “well don’t we all do bad things sometimes?” as if every bad/corrupt action is effectively the same... Incidentally throwing mud at united with absolutely nothing remotely debatable is as Trumpy as it gets.

Effectively you are suggesting that clubs that use blood money , laundered money and dictatorships trying to launder their reputation is no different to most clubs. It’s a great example of how many people delude themselves selectively and when it suits the narrative they want to push or believe ....

“Oh SAF used to put referees under pressure so you can’t make much out of the city owners who are corrupt dictators accused of human right abuses.”

Would be laughable if so many people didn’t let their own personal prejudice (f**k man united, don’t care how they were dethroned) cloud any objective clarity on the topic.

osarusan

Drumpot wrote: »

That’s like absolving somebody killing or raping by saying “well don’t we all do bad things sometimes?” as if every bad/corrupt action is effectively the same... Incidentally throwing mud at united with absolutely nothing remotely debatable is as Trumpy as it gets.

Effectively you are suggesting that clubs that use blood money , laundered money and dictatorships trying to launder their reputation is no different to most clubs. It’s a great example of how many people delude themselves selectively and when it suits the narrative they want to push or believe ....

“Oh SAF used to put referees under pressure so you can’t make much out of the city owners who are corrupt dictators accused of human right abuses.”

Would be laughable if so many people didn’t let their own personal prejudice (f**k man united, don’t care how they were dethroned) cloud any objective clarity on the topic.

Tbh, I think plenty of the suposedly genuine concern for Qatari workers, or the good of the game, or whatever else, is really just fodder for a dig at a rival club, from fans who wouldn't give a fiddler's fart about it if it was their own club involved.

Drumpot

osarusan wrote: »

Tbh, I think plenty of the suposedly genuine concern for Qatari workers, or the good of the game, or whatever else, is really just fodder for a dig at a rival club, from fans who wouldn't give a fiddler's fart about it if it was their own club involved.

That’s possibly true with some people , but in the absence of it actually being the case it’s not a reasonable defence.

Mr.Nice Guy

Major allegation emerging tonight.

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1066018785105203200

theoneeyedman

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Major allegation emerging tonight.

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1066018785105203200

Least surprising news ever tbh.

There are many players that I believe are taking PED's in top European soccer. So much money involved, there has to be. Unlike Athletics, cycling etc, it's a 'see no evil hear no evil' environment.

Harry Palmr

Well Man City's fitness and recovery rates are certainly open to question.

Mr.Nice Guy

Madrid have now released a statement in support of Ramos.

https://twitter.com/SolarriBall/status/1066037825622106112

The allegation is that UEFA covered it up, and yet it would presumably be up to UEFA to investigate any wrongdoing.

Doubt we'll get the real story any time soon.

Scott Tenorman

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Well Man City's fitness and recovery rates are certainly open to question.

Any thoughts on Liverpools workrate?

Cantona's Collars

Scott Tenorman wrote: »

Any thoughts on Liverpools workrate?

Klopps "special juice".

NIMAN

I would love a drugs story to shatter modern football, because we all know the top teams are all abusing PEDs. All of them.

It's been happening for years now, I think the authorities are in cahoots to keep it under wrap.

Cantona's Collars

Cantona's Collars wrote: »

Klopps "special juice".

NIMAN

NIMAN wrote: »

I would love a drugs story to shatter modern football, because we all know the top teams are all abusing PEDs. All of them.

It's been happening for years now, I think the authorities are in cahoots to keep it under wrap.

It's only a matter of time. I'd say it's rampant accross the board.

NIMAN

I think the Dr Fuentes news a few years back should have been investigated a bit more thoroughly. It seemed to have just been ignored.

I'd say that man could name some names.

Guy:Incognito

Scott Tenorman wrote: »

Any thoughts on Liverpools workrate?

According to everyone commentingnon matches they've looked knackered the last couple of weeks before the internationals. Rival fans btw.

Adamcp898

NIMAN wrote: »

I think the Dr Fuentes news a few years back should have been investigated a bit more thoroughly. It seemed to have just been ignored.

I'd say that man could name some names.

Not least the bags of blood that looked not so inconspicuously like they were labelled as samples from Barca and Real Madrid players.

I wonder how Pep managed to keep those famously small Barca squads that performed at peak physical levels and never got injured all whilst being so far and away better than everyone else

Turtwig

There's little doubt in my eyes that doping exists in football. However, I do think the details leaked on Ramos are tenuous at best. The bit about obstructions to testing is more interesting. However, it's still vague at best.

titan18

NIMAN wrote: »

I think the Dr Fuentes news a few years back should have been investigated a bit more thoroughly. It seemed to have just been ignored.

I'd say that man could name some names.

Spanish government and courts covered Puerto up. A certain Spanish tennis player along with a bunch of Barca and Real players were meant to be clients of Fuentes and had blood bags found in his lab.

There's a bunch of doctors currently employed or are advisors at football clubs who have been caught in doping cases within cycling, or were involved with footballers back with the nandrolone scandal in Italian football in early 2000s.

wadacrack

NIMAN wrote: »

I would love a drugs story to shatter modern football, because we all know the top teams are all abusing PEDs. All of them.

It's been happening for years now, I think the authorities are in cahoots to keep it under wrap.

Cant see it ever happening. Way too much money at stake. If a drugs scandal broke its a disaster from too many angles with huge influence. Nothing has been done about Russia despite that fact that one of the players fathers basically naively admitting his son was doping

HandsomeBob

Scott Tenorman wrote: »

Any thoughts on Liverpools workrate?

Do you?

Subcomandante Marcos

NIMAN wrote: »

I think the Dr Fuentes news a few years back should have been investigated a bit more thoroughly. It seemed to have just been ignored.

I'd say that man could name some names.

It wasn't ignored it was actively suppressed. All files not relating to cycling specifically were deemed unusable for any other prosecutions. It was a total farce. Several clubs and dozens of players information contained in files siezed were out beyond use forever.

Subcomandante Marcos

Adamcp898 wrote: »

Not least the bags of blood that looked not so inconspicuously like they were labelled as samples from Barca and Real Madrid players.

I wonder how Pep managed to keep those famously small Barca squads that performed at peak physical levels and never got injured all whilst being so far and away better than everyone else

Pep was no stranger to the Mexican supplements himself in his playing days.

Scott Tenorman

HandsomeBob wrote: »

Do you?

No, just thought it was a bit strange that Harry accused Man City while ignoring the hardest running team in the league

StringerBell

Would definitely be careful about throwing stones from a Liverpool glass house given their manager and the suspicion around him.

Liam McPoyle

Considering United cover less ground than the Craggy Island over 75's they are about the only team free from suspicion of PED's.

City's success is really hurting folk.

ozzy jr

RoboKlopp wrote: »

City's success is really hurting folk.

It's hurting the game more unfortunately.

ozzy jr

ozzy jr wrote: »

It's hurting the game more unfortunately.

I heard that when Utd were dominant. Liverpool too.

It won't last forever. Anyway, as good as they are they still have a long way to go to be considered completely dominant.

Drumpot

RoboKlopp wrote: »

City's success is really hurting folk.

Liverpool having a very coordinated manager- transfer - football philosophy- owners structure is hurting me more then city buying everything that any idiot with money to outbid everybody can do. They are literally like the cheat code you can use on football manager where you get unlimited cash that makes your Victories kind of hollow and takes away from the competitive enjoyment of the game.

What’s also hurting me more is the owners priorities that are clearly about growing fan base and marketing the club. They don’t know how to run the footballing side of things but if united kept top 4 and getting out of CL groups that’s enough for them.

rob316

StringerBell wrote: »

Would definitely be careful about throwing stones from a Liverpool glass house given their manager and the suspicion around him.

Go on. I'm unaware of this, genuinely interested.

gimli2112

rob316 wrote: »

Go on. I'm unaware of this, genuinely interested.

I guess it's the style of play and trying to allude to nefarious goings on. seeing Firminho huffing and puffing at the end of a game would make you think they need to up his dosage.

Harry Palmr

Liverpool are not the hardest running team in the league, if anything they've been looking a bit leggy, esp as some players like Milner have played more than expected with injuries to Keita and Henderson.