Bernardo Silva’s reportedly impending move to the Saudi Pro League has attracted more than its fair share of raised eyebrows.
Some, however, have merely adopted to shrug at this new reality, with Mark Goldbridge a prime example following his latest post on the matter on Twitter.
Bernardo Silva is 28 and he's about to join the Saudi League on 120 million a year!
But to those moaning, what's the issue? Football sold its soul to money years ago. You can't moan because there's a richer league than the Prem now— Mark Goldbridge (@markgoldbridge) June 21, 2023
With rumours already swirling around the possibility of Newcastle United taking advantage of their Saudi links by agreeing a loan deal for Al-Hilal’s newly acquired star Ruben Neves, however, it’s difficult to see many following suit.
READ MORE: Pundit tells out-of-favour Liverpool star to fill in for Ivan Toney at Brentford
Regardless of whether or football is perceived to have ‘sold its soul to money’ (a far from inaccurate view of events), it remains critical that the Premier League is quick to challenge the challenges of this new reality quicker than matters were taken into hand over Chelsea’s approach to long-term contracts.
Fellow Liverpool fans will most certainly be concerned for a number of reasons, and one might imagine Premier League supporters as a whole will have some qualms over the potential impact on the market.
There’s certainly a possibility that we’ll be left waiting longer than usual for our next batch of signings whilst clubs assess whether they can benefit from Saudi Arabia’s financial might.
Goldbridge is right – it’s a new reality we must accept. That said, he’s wildly off the mark when pushing fans to put up and shut up.