United & Uefa Respond To Blatter's 'Slavery' Charge
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United & Uefa Respond To Blatter's 'Slavery' Charge
Manchester United have predictably responded robustly to Fifa president Sepp Blatter's claim that the "enslaved" Cristiano Ronaldo should be allowed to leave Old Trafford if he wants to.
Blatter said in an interview with Sky News that he was critical of a trend towards "modern slavery" in football. His view has raised eyebrows (and probably temperatures) at Old Trafford - and met with an unimpressed response within football generally.
United are insisting that Ronaldo, having signed a lucrative long-term contract, will not be allowed simply to walk away from the club. It should be stressed that the Portuguese international has not categorically stated that he wants to leave, though he has been sending out (presumably calculated) mixed messages about his future.
Real Madrid have been publicly courting the player all summer. He is currently recovering from ankle surgery, and a United spokesperson said: "All our players - like at other clubs - enter into their contracts after an open and free negotiation.
"Most of [them] do after taking advice from a FIFA-registered agent. "Many do so on a number of occasions and enjoy long and successful stays at Old Trafford."
And Uefa have effectively refuted Blatter's claim that players are slaves to clubs, warning that in fact they are becoming more and more powerful because of the Bosman ruling. Indeed, Uefa's communications director, William Gaillard, who is also a special advisor to the body's president, Michel Platini, stressed that players' salaries are "spiralling out of control.
"It would be useful to remind people that slaves in all of the slavery systems never earned a wage," Gaillard told Sky Sports News. Since 1995, under Bosman, players have been allowed free transfers at the end of contracts, and those nearing the end of their deals are inevitably targeted by rival clubs. "It seems that both clubs and players are trying to negotiate an exit before the player is free," said Gaillard.
"It is a consequence of the Bosman ruling - there is nothing we can do about that. "It is obvious that today players have a lot more power than they did 20 years ago, undoubtedly, and agents have a lot more power than they did 20 years ago. "It is true that salaries are spiralling out of control. Many clubs have pointed that out."
Asked if he felt sympathy for Ronaldo's current position, Blatter replied: "Absolutely, absolutely. "Definitely as a footballer and the Fifa president, I'm very in sympathy with the player Ronaldo." He added: "I think in football there is too much modern slavery, transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere. And we are trying now to intervene in such cases."Blatter has his say on...
Women's football: "Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball. They could, for example, have tighter shorts. Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men - such as playing with a lighter ball. That decision was taken to create a more female aesthetic, so why not do it in fashion?"
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Another useless theory or perception. So humsup somemore.
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he and platini are angainst english clubs like fk their own nation league teams hav such god players like utd pool,and so on..he wont be giving a shit about us
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He'll say/do anything to oppose EPL clubs, like Monsieur Platini.
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he should just drop dead now... really...
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the 2 of them trying to take attention away from wad a failure the french have been in Euro08 and wad a failure the FA is by re hiring their coach is it?
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Blatter words anger PFA
The Professional Footballers' Association have called for FIFA president Sepp Blatter to retract his claim of "modern slavery" in the game.
Manchester United have also taken issue with Blatter after he declared Cristiano Ronaldo should be allowed to leave Old Trafford if he wants.
PFA chairman Chris Powell told Sky Sports News: "I really hope Sepp will retract what he has said and that we can get on with resolving this saga because I am sure Manchester United want it to be."
He added: "Ronaldo is not fit now with his injury and having his operation, but I really hope for our sake, and football's sake, that Ronaldo wears the red again of Manchester United again next season."
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0.o i wonder if blatter will say something to chelsea for frank too
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modern slavery = 120K per week??
I bet this guy must be earning too much la..
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Ronaldo backs Blatter's 'slavery' comments
Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has backed FIFA president Sepp Blatter's condemnation of 'modern slavery' in the modern game.
When asked about Ronaldo's long-mooted prospective transfer to Real Madrid, Blatter yesterday suggested that there was a trend towards treating players like slaves in the transfer process.
His comments have been met with criticism in some areas, with Professional Footballers' Association chairman Chris Powell calling for him to retract the comments while UEFA president Michel Platini reacted by highlighting the spiralling wage demands of players.
But Ronaldo, who is currently recovering from ankle surgery after taking part for Portugal in Euro 2008, has failed to commit himself to United and has given mixed messages about Real's obvious interest.
He has now supported Blatter's stand, but refused to shed any more light on the proposed transfer.
'I agree with the comments of the president of FIFA. What he said is right,' he told Portuguese channel TVI.
'At the moment there is no agreement with Real Madrid. We have to wait for the next few days to see, but I do not know where I will begin next season.
'This is all I have to say at the moment.'
Regarding his injury, the winger confirmed he would be out for as long as three months but remained upbeat about his rehabilitation.
'I'm very well. I'm optimistic. My recovery is going well. Everything is fine.'
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Originally posted by iceFatboy:
modern slavery = 120K per week??
I bet this guy must be earning too much la..
in this case i also wanna be part of the modern slavery in the football world
