The term 'Sheikh' is an Arabic word often referring to wise, elderly or religious men as a sign of respect to them, but the 'Eastlands Sheikhs' provides a totally different definition to the word. Manchester City's audacious, yet unsuccessful, attempt to sign Kaka triggered an assortment of reactions within the world of football, in addition to some reflections from outside. However, the various effects of the bid have hardly brought any benefits for the Premiership club or to the game in general. Kaka added to his already-soaring reputation at San Siro and Milan have almost got themselves a new world-class signing with the Brazilian's decision to stay. Whereas City, apart from their disappointment, will have to look elsewhere in order to splash their some hundred million before the deadline. Inside the dressing room, I don't think City players would be happy to learn that a new star is joining in with a bumper ₤500,000 per week salary; this could be crucial to the team's morale because it creates a new category of players within the squad. What's even more unfortunate for the Citizens is the aftermath of the saga excluding the parties involved in the collapsed deal. The bid was met with a bitter view from the Arab community in general, amid critical economic conditions and war problems in the Middle East.
These sorts of proposals could be devastating to the transfer system and to the relationship between clubs, not to mention that footballers are increasingly turning into mercenaries. Moreover, the majority of football icons reflected a state of worldwide dismay regarding the extravagant figures revealed by the spendthrift Sheikhs. "At the moment England every day loses 3,000 jobs. You think that has no consequence on our game? It will have. So far the world has been hit by a financial crisis, not by an economic crisis. That will come in 2009," said Arsene Wenger. "You can hide behind Man City buying Kaka for £100m. But that is an exception to what is happening in our world. We live in a football club which lives in the real world." Juventus chairman Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said: "These figures, especially at this moment when the world and football should be reconsidering its finances, are just illogical." "If Kaka is meant to be worth 120million (euros), then Franck Ribery is worth 150million," said Bayern GM Uli Hoeness. Last summer, the hungry City offered a 'blank cheque' to Real Madrid for the services of Ruud van Nistelrooy. In my opinion, these sorts of proposals could be devastating to the transfer system and to the relationship between clubs, not to mention that footballers are increasingly turning into mercenaries. Finally, neutral fans and football lovers despise money-made teams, so I guess City's fan base isn't getting any broader with the club's free-spending policy.
