The net is awash with 'rumours' that Liverpool are to mount a - wait for it - €49m bid for Valencia striker David Villa. This absurd story is clearly nonsense, but what's funny about it is how many Liverpool/football sites have jumped on the bandwagon and reported it.
The probably origin of this 'story' was the 'The Daily Mail', who published a typically unfounded, sourceless article on the 21 September titled: 'Manchester United and Liverpool put on alert as David Villa hits out at Valencia boss'.
According to the Mail, the fact that Villa publicly question his manager's tactics means that he wants to leave Valencia.
Then, on the 27 September, the Sunday People ran a story about how Rafa Benitez was 'demanding' funds for the purchase of Villa. The article stated:
"Rafa Benitez is ready to go to war with Liverpool's owners over releasing funds to buy David Villa. The Anfield boss has demanded money from their £80million sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered Bank to be made available so he can afford £45m for Villa".
No source; no official quotes, and nothing to suggest that this contention has any shred of truth.
In short, it's made up. Both the Mail and the Sunday People have completely manufactured stories in a bid gain hits/sell newspapers.
Of course, this is standard practice, but lots of Liverpool sites (and football sites in general) still ran the story.
Anyone who has even rudimentary knowledge of Liverpool's recent financial history knows that a €49m/£45m (!) bid on a single player is nigh on impossible, even with the impending influx of Standard Chartered sponsorship cash.
One website (Goal.com) even suggested that this massive cash outlay would take place in the January transfer window!
ThisIsAnfield.com went one further, and reported that Rafa Benitez WILL launch a £45m bid for Villa in January. Clearly, they copied the Goal.com article up to and including the reference to alleged reports in Spanish Newspapers that 'suggest' Rafa is going to sign Villa.
After extensive checking, it will not surprise anyone to know that there are ZERO newspaper reports in Spain suggesting anything of the sort.
Perhaps sites like 'This is Anfield' and 'Goal' should check their facts instead of falling into the same trap as The Daily Mail', i.e. spreading preposterous, unfounded rumours.
Anyway, is Villa worth £45m? No way in my opinion.
The probably origin of this 'story' was the 'The Daily Mail', who published a typically unfounded, sourceless article on the 21 September titled: 'Manchester United and Liverpool put on alert as David Villa hits out at Valencia boss'.
According to the Mail, the fact that Villa publicly question his manager's tactics means that he wants to leave Valencia.
Then, on the 27 September, the Sunday People ran a story about how Rafa Benitez was 'demanding' funds for the purchase of Villa. The article stated:
"Rafa Benitez is ready to go to war with Liverpool's owners over releasing funds to buy David Villa. The Anfield boss has demanded money from their £80million sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered Bank to be made available so he can afford £45m for Villa".
No source; no official quotes, and nothing to suggest that this contention has any shred of truth.
In short, it's made up. Both the Mail and the Sunday People have completely manufactured stories in a bid gain hits/sell newspapers.
Of course, this is standard practice, but lots of Liverpool sites (and football sites in general) still ran the story.
Anyone who has even rudimentary knowledge of Liverpool's recent financial history knows that a €49m/£45m (!) bid on a single player is nigh on impossible, even with the impending influx of Standard Chartered sponsorship cash.
One website (Goal.com) even suggested that this massive cash outlay would take place in the January transfer window!
ThisIsAnfield.com went one further, and reported that Rafa Benitez WILL launch a £45m bid for Villa in January. Clearly, they copied the Goal.com article up to and including the reference to alleged reports in Spanish Newspapers that 'suggest' Rafa is going to sign Villa.
After extensive checking, it will not surprise anyone to know that there are ZERO newspaper reports in Spain suggesting anything of the sort.
Perhaps sites like 'This is Anfield' and 'Goal' should check their facts instead of falling into the same trap as The Daily Mail', i.e. spreading preposterous, unfounded rumours.
Anyway, is Villa worth £45m? No way in my opinion.
The rumour started in Spain.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.marca.com/2009/09/27/futbol/equipos/valencia/1254043066.html
ReplyDeleteOwned.
ReplyDeleteVilla is worth £45m in terms of ability, but considering he is soon 28 it would not make a lot of financial sense when you could get a younger player for that amount or less.
Not that it will happen of course.
no 35m better price
ReplyDeleteThat article uses 'The Sunday People' article as its source! As I stated in the article, the People story is clearly made up.
ReplyDeleteWhere in Spain? Where is the evidence that this story has any foundation in fact?
ReplyDeleteits simple. You need to understand the difference between cost and value.
ReplyDeleteI live in Spain; and yes, the rumour started in Spain. Last week people were already talking about it at the coffee shops and gatherings. Is probably all bs, but as I said, the rumour did started in Spain.
ReplyDeleteI read it on TIA, and immediatley thought it to be BS. Don't they know Liverpool only deal in facts, no? LFC are nowhere near having that kind of financial clout.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how these reports are reconciled with reports from the same sources that LFC are (effectively) broke. They can't have it both ways.
In the current inflated market, I do credit Rafa with having the where-with-all to side-step astronomical quotes for players - unless he's doing the quoting, a la Torres.
i wish jaimie kanwar was a rumour that started in the people
ReplyDeletehahahahahahah!
ReplyDeleteTIA said it was reports in England AND Spain. Unless you've gone to Spain today, picked up the newspapers from today and the weekend, then you can't claim you've done extensive checks, Mr Kanwar. Not everything printed is on the internet you know. Now stop slagging off good websites and concentrate of sorting your own mess of a blog out.
ReplyDeleteYou are so thick Jamie! You spend your life on the internet don't you. There's a world offline too. Get out.
ReplyDeleteThis Is Anfield is a million times the site this blog will ever be. How about not slagging sites like them off and concentrate on not posing videos of Utd victories, slagging Liverpool and Benitez off, only looking at statistics after games instead of watching the match, you're a disgrace to journalism. > Enter the censorship of Kanwar towers.
ReplyDeleteWhy are LFC nowhere near having that kind of financial clout? How do you know how much Benitez had left over from the transfer kitty this summer? Just because he didn't spend it doesn't mean he didn't have it.
ReplyDeletetia said it was part of their rumour mill, looks like you've done exactly the same as them. grow up mate.
ReplyDeletei would be very surprised if he would spend that amount on villa even if he was given that amount of money (which he wont) he is more likery to invest 25 or so in david silva before he would buy another striker which would mean a change in his system.
ReplyDeletewhy's this a ridiculous rumour? we spent £35million this summer gone, why not a bit more in january?
ReplyDeleteit's in all the spanish papers. are you in spain?
ReplyDeleteI read on Sky News that Prince Faisal was set to buy 50% of a premiership club and it was said that the club was Liverpool. The deal was supposed to be worth between 250 and 350 million. If that was the case, then maybe it could be correct? I personally can't see it but I would not say it is preposterous.
ReplyDeleteI personally do not believe that Rafa would be stupid enough to reveal his hand 3 months before the market opens again, come to that would any manager worth his salt, apart from maybe Mark Hughes who is like a kid in a sweet shop with all that money at his disposal.
I have friends in Spain. I contacted two friends: One in Barcelona and one in Bilbao and asked them to check local and national newspapers for verfication of this story. The stuff in the Spanish papers is just unfounded speculation, just like the stuff in the UK papers. And as I noted above, in 'Marca' the Sunday People artice is used a a source (!).
ReplyDeleteI have done extensive checks - see my comment below. And how exactly was I 'slagging off' TIA? Please post the quote from the article that constitutes slagging off. I did no such thing - I merely suggested they should check their sources.
ReplyDeleteit's still in all the spanish papers, whether it's speculation or not. you've merely reported it too, with a sensational headline, just like everybody else. but you probably know that and you're cleverer than we make out :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't reported it - I've ridiculed the story and questioned the motives of other sites who reposted the story. I believe there is a definite difference there. and I don't see how my headline is sensationalist - it say exactly what I think: it's a ridiculous, made-up rumour. I don't have a headline like 'Liverpool in amazing 45m swoop!' ;)
ReplyDeletejust maybe this is the Spanish clubs way of starting a bidding war for a player who has questioned his managers ability/coaching style. Unless Rafa comes out and states he has made an offer, all reporting is just speculation....come on folks get a grip...
ReplyDeletei dont wat u mean a younger player! the guy worths that amount!
ReplyDeleteWinning the premiership has no price guys how much did houlier spend waster how much has rafa spent take torres and xabi out bought alot of sht vills is better than torres keeps valencia a force does better for spain together they would be unbelievable no limits a 19th title before the sweaty basa priceless
ReplyDeletePs sweaty basta being ferguson of course
ReplyDelete