West Ham United vice-chair Karren Brady blasts Juventus chiefs, with side dig at Cristiano Ronaldo
West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady has railed against a “greed-is-good” culture in football driven by the likes of Andrea Agnelli at Juventus.
The former chairman of the Serie A side has resigned along with the entire board of the club amid allegations of corruption relating to transfers and wages, and huge recorded losses [Guardian, 30 November].
The Hammers board member has also called on FIFA to take action against the Italian giants and La Liga’s Real Madrid and Barcelona in their upcoming judgment on the hold-outs for the European Super League, while stating her pride at how she has contributed to things in the Premier League in contrast.
In her column for The Sun she wrote of the Old Lady’s ex-chair: “In this country he is best known for being a driving force of the European Super League, that ill-fated, greatly hated, ruinous usurper of the continent’s football structure.”
She railed against the Italian’s influence, saying: “Agnelli and his kind have introduced a greed-is-good culture.”
And Brady called for action against Agnelli’s fellow Super League hold-outs when she said: “Fifa leaders give the impression of being happier to watch from comfortable armchairs, it’s time to stand up and be counted.”
On the way past she had time to land a solid blow on Portugal’s ex-Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo, whose time in Turin is central to the current turmoil.
She wrote: “Talking of Ronaldo, fresh from the extreme slagging of his last club, it’s reported he has accepted £173million-a-year, a world record in sport, to move to Saudi Arabia.
“As purchases go, this is rather like buying the Mona Lisa to stand on the penalty spot.”
Differentiating herself from Agnelli and the Super League owners, Brady said: “I realise I have played a minor role in the monetisation of the game at the top level and I am proud of many of the changes.”
Scathing
The Super League was almost universally unpopular within football with everyone apart from those who would financially benefit from it.
But governing bodies appear to be content to let many of the mechanisms sneak through the back door in changing the rules to the likes of the Champions League, so the suggestion that a promotion of greed is pervasive is hard to argue with.
That it is coming from a prominent figure in a Premier League board room might be seen as ironic from some quarters, like the Football League, and possibly even from the targets of Brady’s ire.
It is hard to imagine that the West Ham hierarchy wouldn’t have jumped at the chance to get on the Super League gravy train had they been invited, but they will forever benefit from a PR perspective by never having been asked.
The way the club has been run during Brady’s time, with David Sullivan and David Gold in charge, has hardly been spotless in terms of popularity among the supporters, although things have calmed in the past couple of seasons amid improve fortunes under David Moyes.
So there are some fair points from the Irons vice-chair, and while the fans will largely agree with the sentiment, some might feel it’s a bit rich coming from the board at the London Stadium.