Recently given a major interview to Belgian publication Knack. Thanks to
@scoham for uncovering it. It is very lengthy so I haven't had time to translate all of it properly yet.
A few snippets:
- Admits football a mistake but nevertheless an interesting experiment sociologically.
- Intends to sell all his football clubs but not in a hurry
- Says people in Belgium earn too little but that his own employees have no complaints (I have just corrected the journalists on this point by bringing the Charlton bonus issue to their attention)
- Slags off teachers, immigrants, generals and Muslims: helping with ROT's electioneering strategy in one fell swoop.
Comments
(Apologies that this is based on machine translation).
The article is in the form of a Q&A.
The first question is about the banning of water bottles at the training ground.
I only drink from the tap myself. Well, from now on they also get water from the tap. Thirsty they will not suffer, and they will not get worse by playing football. The club is losing too much, so it's better to pay attention to the pennies. Moreover, it is an environmentally friendly measure.
Next question was about what an entrepreneur looks for in a football club.
I've been wondering about that myself lately. (laughs) It was a mistake. The football business does not suit me. Too irrational. If you want to lose real money, buy a football club.
Before you knew it, you owned more than five football clubs at home and abroad. Typical Duchâtelet? If you start something, do you go all the way to the hole?
Maybe, but it was mainly a question of efficiency. If you control five clubs, there are synergies, for example by allowing players to circulate from one club to another. I was one of the first to introduce that model. Meanwhile, many other clubs do it too, like Manchester City. [Yes, that's right. Roland Duchatelet is now presenting his ideas as the genesis of Manchester City's success]
Question as to whether he will sell all his clubs
That's the intention, but I'm not in a hurry. Investing in football was the mistake of my life, at the same time it was an interesting sociological experiment. The parallels with politics are striking. They are two worlds where emotions win from logical thinking.
Question about protests from Liege and London
The supporters' protests do me little, because I understand that they do not really know me, do not know what really happened and continue on social media and unscrupulous newspapers looking for thrill. My conclusion is that the recipes from the business world do not catch on in football. [See that? The man who doesn't do failure, admits failure]
He goes on to ramble, at length, in barely coherent rhetoric about pensions, Muslim immigration (he's not a fan of second- and third-generation immigrants being considered "guests" rather than citizens), some unpalatable, borderline Islamophobia, Russian war capability, the sinking of the Bismark (I'm not making this up, honestly), "migrants can no longer have any economic added value", but then...
...this timely reminder of how Roland Duchatelet fully appreciates the precise feelings of people about him and his tenure:
"What [is to] stop you from increasing the wages of your 7,000 employees?"
Rest assured, our employees do not complain.
That’s a good sign in my opinion. If it was just Charlton, there was always a worry that he could change his mind on a sale at any time if he intended to stay within football.
Unbe-fucking-lievable
Copied over from the FCC thread.
Very little aired in recent months about RD's German activities, but grateful thanks to @MadGerman for finding this -
https://www.liga-drei.de/carl-zeiss-jena-unabhaengigkeit-von-duchatelet-angestrebt
And in case reading that someone in authority thinks perhaps my collar should be felt, they should remember this...…
…...the pen is mightier than the sword
(English novelist and politician - they pop up everywhere, don't they? - Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839)
Anyone?
manifested retractable mc-triple-sandwich mutha fucker
He (or his staff) chose to send over poor and/or unsuitable players and managers.
When you’ve been running an English club for nearly 2 years, made numerous mistakes and yet still believe Karen Fraeye is a good appointment then it proves you’re the problem. Not the fans, the media or anyone else.
Kind of incredulous some of the stuff he says. But not unexpected, given what we've seen and heard before.
Of course they don't Roland.
"Duchâtelet was on the phone to the newspaper owner this morning, to rant at him for publishing the article".
Admitting selling in a hurry (if that was the case) wouldn’t make much sense from a negotiating point of view