18 February 2023 , 22:30
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Brendan Rodgers has warned Manchester United could turn into a "plaything" if their Qatari takeover goes ahead.
Ahead of the club’s potential £6billion buyout by the Gulf state, the Leicester boss spoke of his unease at the amount of cash that will be sloshing around the game. Rodgers said that "money can distort reality" and wants outside influence only if it is for "the right reasons".
Asked about his view on the deal, the Foxes’ chief said: “When you go back, it used to be the richest guy in the city who owned his local club and it was a great honour for him. Those times have changed.
“It’s becoming increasingly difficult. For the likes of ourselves, money can distort reality, and I think it’s important the governance of the game is looked after. With that, I mean keeping the playing field as equal as we possibly can, otherwise it will become a top four or then a top six or seven.
“It’s a really competitive league, it’s amazing to be involved in, there are so many challenges tactically and qualitatively, but at the same time, you don’t want any club to be a plaything.
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“Football in this country means everything, it does to a lot of people around the world, but I only tell from here in Britain that it really does mean everything.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani wants to buy Manchester United“We all are only custodians for the clubs. To look after them for the supporters. That’s what I’ve always felt is important. If people come in with finance, that’s absolutely fine. It has to be for the right reasons, though.
“If I look at our ownership here, yes, they are a very wealthy family, but the fans are at the heart of everything they do - the experience they try to give them. I’m sure that other clubs have their stories of how they’ve helped their communities.
“It’s challenging. When teams can go out and spend the money they can, it’s inevitable that the levels between clubs will grow further apart.”
Rodgers also spoke of why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should be given more credit for Manchester United’s resurgence. Leicester travel to Old Trafford on Sunday and the Northern Irishman gave Erik ten Hag plenty of praise for their upturn, but he says the seeds of United’s positive momentum were sewn when the Norwegian was in charge.
Asked if this fixture was as difficult as any he had faced during the last decade with Swansea, Liverpool or Leicester, he said: “In fairness to Ole and Kieran (McKenna, former first-team coach) when those guys were in there, they actually did well.
“That gets forgotten about. I think Ole did a really good job in there with Kieran, who is now managing at Ipswich. They maximised the players they had, it was just a question of consistency.
“Now, what you have is an additional quality of player. Lisandro Martinez who is a World Cup winner. Casemiro who is a comfort blanket for the whole team. He’s won everything and gives the team great stability.
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Brendan Rodgers thinks Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserves more credit (Getty Images)“Then there’s Christian Eriksen... they’ve got players in that can improve the squad and with the mentality to improve the consistency. When you bring in Erik and Steve (McClaren, assistant coach), then you’re going to get good organisation as well. The freshness of Erik and the new players has given them a structure.
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“They (United) have been very good. That’s a relationship between the training, how they are working, their mentality that the guys have brought in and the spirit of the team. It will be a really big challenge for us - and their record at home shows that.”