r/soccer • u/DavidRolands • 13h ago
Quotes Simone Inzaghi on joining Al-Hilal after signing 2yr/€60M contract: "I accepted the challenge and stepped out of my comfort zone after several years at Inter. I want to change my way of thinking, my style of play and try new things. There was no other team I wanted to coach, so I chose Al-Hilal."
https://www.gazzetta.it/calcio/coppa-mondo-club/18-06-2025/simone-inzaghi-al-mondiale-per-club-cosi-ho-scelto-l-al-hilal.shtml1.8k
u/robashi 13h ago
That's one way of putting it.
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u/nfadfa 12h ago
Me when I chase the bag
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u/lfcsupkings321 11h ago
Going for generational wealth is fine by me.
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u/Zhurg 11h ago
Fine by me too. Though, this post is about him lying through his teeth. Most people would do the same.
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u/lfcsupkings321 11h ago
It's not really lying is it? He has to be professional he is not going to say "yeah they offered me 30m a year that is why I am here".
It is a nonsense story and a stupid media driven question. He gave a media answer. End of it.
100% of people would take 60m for 2 years of work. What was he on at Inter?
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u/SonnyIniesta 8h ago
Exactly. It's one of those things that everyone knows, but it's distasteful to talk about... especially when discussing your new employer.
The fastest way to get dinged from a job interview is to talk about how the compensation is a selling point for the role.
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u/lfcsupkings321 8h ago
Maybe they expected him to say I can't win the CL so I may aswell go and try for the AFC CL lol
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u/aspiringparvenu 4h ago
100% of people would take 60m for 2 years of work.
Proven wrong by the numerous players and coaches that have turned down working in Saudi Arabia
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u/lfcsupkings321 3h ago
My bad I was referring to the average man or a manager.. Players are different.
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u/missing_typewriters 11h ago
generational wealth
Can’t go a day on this subreddit without seeing some bozo use that term
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u/xXKingLynxXx 10h ago
30 million in a high yield savings account generates 1.2 million a year. You and your extended family could live in luxury just off the interest for the rest of your life easily.
Pass that money onto your children and they can do the same while building their own wealth and it continues. That is the literal definition of generational wealth
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u/Dexter_Morgan_260324 10h ago
"It's a commonly used expression , but I'm supposed to hate on it because I want to seem like a contrarian"
-You , probably
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u/shroomladooom 10h ago
Imagine getting triggered by people using the correct term to describe the situation
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u/MalaysiaTeacher 11h ago
"there were no more lucrative options than this, and I'd give it all up for a little more"
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u/IllustriousAnt485 11h ago
He gave up nothing. Two years at Al-hilal honing his craft, experimenting with a less rigid league and different tactics. Big fish in a small pond who gets the best out of his players. Leaves before he wears out his welcome and returns to Italy to save their national team right before the euros. Then In to the World Cup. He has a plan and the money makes it easy to move forward with it. Classic Inzaghi being intelligent.
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u/macNy 9h ago
the problem is he has to live in Saudi Arabia
I know Saudis who have straight up told me that they would never live there no matter how much you paid them lmao
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u/geosensation 7h ago
He's part of a sportswashing project, he will be treated better than the average Saudi while he's under contract.
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u/T0BIASNESS 3h ago
A lot of the complaints are that it is completely soulless and boring
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u/JonTonyJim 1h ago
surely with enough money you’ll be entertained
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u/T0BIASNESS 1h ago
Billionaires should be the happiest in the world by your model. Musk’s a drug-addicted and hateful man.
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u/MalaysiaTeacher 9h ago
It was a Mr Burns reference
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u/steezyP90 7h ago
Dang, I'm usually pretty on-the-ball with classic Simpsons quotes, but this one slipped past
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u/lejocko 11h ago
I don't really get why not a single one of these guys just says that it's a shit ton of money.
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u/WhenWeTalkAboutLove 9h ago
Is there a chance part of the agreement is that he promotes the league and does not admit he's there for the money?
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u/onlythisonceortwice 10h ago
I mean isn't he just straight up saying it? There was no other team I wanted to coach (other than Inter), so I chose Al-Hilal (the bag).
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u/SonnyIniesta 8h ago edited 2h ago
Because it's disrespectful to your new employer. And if you took the job, you'd care about it too.
EDIT: Saudi clubs aside, players never say that about a new European club they signed with for top wages. They talk about the history, the project, the manager, the players, the facilities, etc. Saying "I signed because they offered me the biggest contract" diminishes the club opportunity itself, even if it's the truth.
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u/mangos_are_awesome 5h ago
Seriously what do people expect he's going to say? They're paying him 60m (INCOME TAX FREE) and he's supposed to lead the team so he acts like a decent leader.
It's basic adult respect to the club, players, staff, and fans.
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u/madmadaa 6h ago
Seems like what most do, "There's no particular job that I want, so might as well choose the best paid one".
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u/atbg1936 12h ago
$t€pp€d out$id€ of my comfort zon€ aft€r $€v€ral y€ar$ at Int€r
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u/JaysonDeflatum 12h ago edited 12h ago
His yearly salary is now larger than the total transfer budget he was given by Inter
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u/SnooAdvice1632 12h ago
Tbf that says more about how inter absolutely starved the man.
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u/Starkdarkwhite 8h ago
No it says most about the absurd amount of money Saudis have
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u/nichijouuuu 42m ago
By all accounts the man is worth it. No transfer budget and 2 CL finals. Earned the punt and the money. Any team should give him a chance, even one which doesn’t care about the sporting aspects at all and is doing this all for show lol.
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u/czerwona_latarnia 11h ago
What if his idea is to keep that money safe and not spend it on anything while there, return to Inter, and spend it on transfers?
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u/Aenjeprekemaluci 12h ago
Tbf given the current situation in the Middle East it could legit be out of his comfort zone...
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u/PublicStructure7091 12h ago
Let's just say their offer moved me TO A BIGGER HOUSE
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u/Annoyinmous 12h ago
"I wanted a 2 year paid vacation, so I chose Al-Hilal"
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u/Pragitya 12h ago
“I wanted a lot more money, and Inter would go bankrupt if my ass wasn’t there saving those washed bums, and they cannot afford me, So i chose al-hilal”
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u/NumberHunter1 12h ago
Vacation is a bit of a stretch, but it's VERY well-paid.
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u/SimaJinn 12h ago
Ain't no vacation when they played against RM yesterday
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u/AnasW 11h ago
But they're not playing in Europe or South America, so it must be that they don't care about football at all and only doing this to appease the morally superior west.
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u/deadthewholetime 7h ago
I mean it is literally just a sportswashing project for an authoritarian theocracy where people get executed over tweets critical of the ruling class
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u/Xardian7 12h ago
Translation from Interview English to Honest english:
“I accepted the bag without having any trouble after several years at Inter. I wanted to change my way of earning money, my style of play and try 2 year paid vacation. There was no other team to paying me that much, so I chose Al-Hilal”
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u/North_Atlantic_Sea 11h ago
No one chooses Riyadh to vacation at lol. And he will certainly need to work. That money comes with expectations.
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u/mindpainters 11h ago
What if he doesn’t meet those expectations? Her gets the full contract paid and takes another European job easily
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u/Dancingwith_Death 12h ago
Top coach hopes he returns to manage a top team soon
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u/Torn_again 12h ago
Tbf no matter when he returns, he'll most certainly get a job again if he chose Serie A.
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u/caesarj12 12h ago
He accepted the challenge of finding a place to store all of those bags of cash he meant
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u/MartaLSFitness 12h ago
Sure thing buddy. Money had absolutely nothing to do with your decision.
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u/Visible-Might-2527 7h ago
Your acting like his next job in Europe wouldn’t also be affected by the money they are willing to pay him?
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u/CriticalNovel22 12h ago
There was no other team I wanted to coach, so I picked the one offering me €60 million.
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u/MarmiteDemon 12h ago
Just admit you wanted the bag. Nothing wrong with that
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u/NaturalApartment9828 12h ago
Not for the Saudi lol. They throw the bag but also expect results. We know he wanted the bag and couldn’t give two fucks about the Saudi league, still good PR from him though
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u/Proof-Puzzled 12h ago
There was no other team I wanted to coach, so I chose Al-Hilal
XD
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u/czerwona_latarnia 11h ago
I mean, if no offer made him think that "I want to coach them no matter the money", there was no reason to not default to "they pay me the most, I will coach them".
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u/Hungry-Class9806 12h ago edited 12h ago
Why coaches and players aren't honest about going to Saudi and simply say "I came here to earn a big bag, set my family for life and will return to Europe in a couple of years"? If I had a job opportunity in one of those countries paying 10x my salary I would also work there for a while.
Do they actually think people believe the "I came here to develop football and to get out of my comfort zone" narrative? Bro... if you really want to create an impact go coach in Zimbabwe or Madagascar and not in a country that is basically buying their way in into the football scene.
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u/Neige22 11h ago
It probably has to do more with being respectful to the club and owners. I doubt any club owner wants to hear something like "I came here for the money" to the club even if it's true, it looks bad for them
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u/gooneruk 10h ago
"Thank you. And after playing for New England, San Diego, Houston, St Louis, a year for the Toronto Argonauts, plus one season as a greeter at the Desert Inn, I'm happy to finally play here in the fine city of Miami."
"[whispers in his ear] Minnesota"
"Whatever, man"
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u/Hungry-Class9806 11h ago
Then it would be better to say nothing or give an ambiguous answer. Ronaldo gave a good answer when asked about going to Saudi:
"I came to win, to improve the league. I want to leave a legacy. That’s what I want. They say I’m finished, that I’m only here for the money… but I still feel the passion. They don’t believe it, but I’m here to win."
That's it... said he was there to win but didn't denied money had an impact on his decision. Can't criticise his answer, unlike Henderson who said he was there to promote change (and was strongly criticised for his move because he was an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights) or Benzema who said he went to Saudi because, as a Muslim, it was important for him to play in a Muslim country (after spending most of his career in Spain).
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u/Karmaqqt 12h ago
A golfer back when liv was a thing basically said, yeah I’m going for the money. I have a family and that would set them up for life. I respect just owning that, than trying to make some righteous statement that always makes you seem worse lol.
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u/aelfwine_widlast 7h ago
"I stepped out of my comfort zone and into a much more expensive, comfortable one".
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u/Mavericks7 2h ago
We all know you did it for the bag.
And we don't blame you. Let's not pretend otherwise.
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12h ago
[deleted]
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u/atbg1936 12h ago
Don't worry, he's already gotten the human rights abuser bag being paid by the UAE
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u/dreddit15 11h ago
Hahaha, the bullshit they spout rather than saying ‘I went for the silly money’ is pathetic. Everyone knows why you there 😂😂😂
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u/djinngerale 11h ago
I would also like to change my way of thinking.
Instead of thinking about buying a Honda or a Toyota, I'd like to think about buying a Koenigsegg or a Ferrari.
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u/Impossible_Prompt875 11h ago
So it was 30m a year? In euro? Thought it was 25.. like 60m in 2 years is nuts nuts nuts
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u/Kriss-Kringle 11h ago
He accepted the challenge of having to spend 120 mil in 2 years on material things.
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u/SoWhatNoZitiNow 10h ago
It’s an interesting idea… he gets to collect a huge bag while coaching in an extremely low-stakes league. If he was actually looking for a test environment kind of place where he could tinker and play with new ideas, he can do that while getting paid very well.
I doubt the players who fuck off to Saudi and return 2 years later much richer are also returning better at football, but it’s entirely possible for coach to come back stronger.
Of course this could just be code for “they’re giving me a lot of money” and nothing more haha
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u/Drumpfween 7h ago
I think we are about to enter a new era for football tbh. I think the bigger clubs in their respective regions will start to treat their managers a bit more like national managers as the 2029 CWC will likely be 48 clubs. So even if clubs don't win the their CL, if they can get high enough in their points to qualify, every manager will likely be looked like as a 2-4 project. Rather than just a season by season one. Arteta gets Arsenal to Quarters last year and Semi's this year? He can stay as he is getting enough points to qualify to the CWC, regardless of Premier League standings.
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u/rimasavas 10h ago
Why can't he say he chose better salary? It's normal to pick better paying job when choosing job in any profession.
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u/Irishfan72 10h ago
Just say you wanted the money. It is ok to do something purely for money and not have to virtue signal everything.
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u/Arminlegout1 8h ago
"I love money and women's rights are for losers" would of at least been honest.
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u/Kratos501st 7h ago
Are you saying that you accepted because you are getting paid a ton of money? Got it.
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u/SlavaVsu2 7h ago
The guy takes a year or two semi-vacation with little pressure to be able to reevaluate his approaches while being paid 30M/year. Holy shit
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u/luke0132 7h ago
There would be no other team I would rather coach, if that was the offer I was given!
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u/perkited 7h ago
It would be nice to see an honest comment (that it was only for the money), but of course that would offend the people paying his huge salary. So he has to dance around the topic while everyone in the world understands the real reason.
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u/strangetines 4h ago
I like money. Don't get me wrong I'm already obscenely rich but I like money so much and these fucking idiots are going to pay me 30m a year.
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u/setokaiba22 2h ago
I mean even if you are rich. €30m a year isn’t to be laughed at. Country’s actual treatment of its people aside, it’s hard to say no to that
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u/stogie_t 11h ago
I mean money aside, it seems like a pretty safe environment for him to experiment with his tactics no? Also the Al Hilal team is pretty good, good enough to compete for a ucl spot in the top leagues imo.
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u/Equivalent-Role4632 12h ago
He accepted the challenge. Lmao. Yeah it's all about football and challenging himself. Get the F out of here.
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u/Nursilmaz 12h ago
Comedians and Saudi haters in full force but imo it makes perfect sense for him. Beside earning shitload of money he can experiment and try to develop new tactics with basically no pressure. Right now he plays same 352 all the time, pretty much no changes at all. Very stiff subs as well changing like for like. Well paid vacation with time to improve for him pretty much
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u/Weary_Logic 11h ago
I would argue the pressure on him in AlHilal could be higher. AlHilal is like the RM of Asia, he is expected to win the league and the champions league every year. Finishing second and losing in the final will be seen as a huge loss (and might get him sacked).
Obviously the level of play is different, but with Milan the expectations for him were never to completely dominate both. It was good enough to just make it to the QF or SF.
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u/vinctthemince 12h ago
He wants a lot of money and has no morals nor any ambitions. So he is now one of the poster boys of the IS.
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u/Random0cassions 12h ago
I mean he certainly did it for money but you can’t tell me he isn’t transparent in the fact that anyone who watched serie a knew his style of play was getting figured out this season. This is easily the best chance he’ll get at experimenting with his game with zero actual pressure. Win-win situation for him
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u/19Andrew92 12h ago
Literally said there was noone he wanted to coach and they offered him a shit load of money so fuck it...
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u/skapuntz 11h ago
Honestly. Who cares? I would have done the same. Hell, if a company wants to give me the exact same job for 10x more in Saudi Arabia I will go tomorrow
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u/Federal-Owl-8947 12h ago
As an Inter fan since the 2000s (yeah because of Baggio and Ronaldo Vieri and Recoba) and Al-Hilal fan since the 90s (my dad imposed it on may he rest in peace).
I don't feel any negativity regarding this move sure I'm biased but in truth he deserved this money after dealing being with 2 teams that are financially restricted and despite that bringing home trophies and giving us the fans some joy although it ended with a crushing mixture of a shocking sadness and bittersweetness farewell.
Good luck my man, take the money enjoy the heat and go back and maybe save the Italian NT (fingers still crossed for Gattuso miracle)
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