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A soccer pundit's eloquent but brutal on-air rant perfectly summed up everything wrong with the modern game

Barnaby Lane   

A soccer pundit's eloquent but brutal on-air rant perfectly summed up everything wrong with the modern game
  • Paris Saint Germain and RB Leipzig are the epitome of what is wrong with modern soccer, according to former Irish international turned pundit Richard Sadlier.
  • "It's basically a marketing strategy for a drinks brand, that's what this club exists as," Sadlier said of Leipzig, speaking on RTE.
  • Of PSG, which is owned by the Qatari royal family, he added: "They're run by a regime, which faces allegations of anything from torturing journalists to imprisoning gay people and a host of other human rights abuses."
  • PSG beat Leipzig 3-0 on Tuesday night to progress to its first ever Champions League final.

Paris Saint Germain and RB Leipzig are the epitome of what is wrong with modern soccer, and it is understandable why they are two of the most disliked clubs on the planet.

That's according to former Irish international turned pundit Richard Sadlier, who tore down the pair, both of which are amongst the wealthiest clubs in the world, in a brutal on-air rant on the night of their Champions League semifinal clash Tuesday.

"They are very unpopular for very understandable reasons," Sadlier said speaking on RTE.

"One way at looking at Leipzig from abroad is you look in and think: young manager, really energetic style of football, lovely story, they've come from nowhere in a very short period of time.

"But if you look at how they've done it, they've either side-stepped, or trampled over, the membership rules that are treated very seriously in German football."

In Germany, soccer clubs are traditionally run without single, rich owners, with the country's "50+1" rule ensuring that fans and members own a majority share of clubs. Leipzig, however, is owned by the billionaire owner of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz, and has only a small number of vetted members with shares, all of which came at an extremely high price. Many of the club's members are Red Bull employees.

"The importance of fans having a voice in the club, it's not considered here," Sadlier continued. "Everyone in Germany is wishing them failure, because you think: 'If this does well, who's going to follow them?'

"It's basically a marketing strategy for a drinks brand, that's what this club exists as."

On PSG, which is owned by the ruler of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Sadlier said: "And PSG, far worse. They're run by a regime, which faces allegations of anything from torturing journalists to imprisoning gay people and a host of other human rights abuses.

"So if you approach a game and see the result as a validation or vindication of the behaviour of the owners or the club, maybe this is not the game for you."

PSG beat Leipzig 3-0 on the night, with goals from Marquinhos, Angel Di Maria, and Juan Bernat sending the French champions to its first ever Champions League final.

It will face the winner of Olympique Lyonnais versus Bayern Munich, who play on Wednesday.

The final takes place on Sunday at 8 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET).

Read more:

PSG the promising, Leipzig the Werner-less, Bayern the brutal, and Lyon the unlikely: Here's what to look for in the Champions League semifinals

Lionel Messi is key to his new boss' plans, and is going nowhere despite rumors of a $700 million Barcelona exit

A 21-year-old American scored a late goal to fire Germany's most hated soccer club into the semifinals of the Champions League

Borussia Dortmund trolled Manchester United on Twitter after it confirmed star man Jadon Sancho won't be moving to England this summer

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