The five most greedy footballers
2July 20, 2012 by joshilan14
Unsurprisingly, “Cashley” Cole makes the list
It has been rumoured in the last few days that Emmanuel Adebayor move to Tottenham Hotspur is under threat, due to the player’s ridiculous wage demands. This has seen it said that he will see out the remainder of his contract at Manchester City, with the Togo striker wanting to get massive wages for doing nothing, as opposed to playing regular football. Unfortunately in this day and age, money talks in football. Selfishness and greed have taken over, with many players more concerned about money than regular playing time. Here are five of the most notable examples of footballer’s selfishness and greediness in the game.
Winston Bogarde
Dutch defender Winston Bogarde signed for Chelsea from Barcelona in 200. A change in management from Gianluca Vialli to Claudio Ranieri saw Bogarde made surplus to requirements. Feeling that he would be unable to get a contract at another club that would match his wages at Chelsea, he decided to “honour” his contract. Chelsea did everything they could to get rid of him, while the British press were constantly on his back. Bogarde hit back at his critics by saying “This world is about money, so when you are offered those millions, you take them. I may be one of the worst buys in the history of the Premiership but I don’t care.” He left Chelsea after four yesrs, in which he played eleven games for the club, earning approximately £8million during his spell at the club.
Paul Pogba
Despite only being nineteen years old, Pogba has already had two controversial career moves. When he left Le Havre for Manchester United in 2009; Le Havre accused Pogba for leaving for monetary issues, with the French club’s president Jean Pierre Louvel alleged he left for “£87,000 and a house.” Three years later, Pogba rejected many contract offers and a chance to play a more prominent role next season for Manchester United, in order to sign for Serie A champions Juventus on a reported £20,000 a week. Sir Alex Ferguson said “It’s a bit disappointing as I don’t think he showed us any respect at all.” This was not the first time this has happened, and it probably won’t be the last.
Benni McCarthy
After signing for West Ham United in 2010, it looked like McCarthy would give them a goal scoring edge, due to his record at all of his previous clubs. Fast forward a year-and-a-half and McCarthy has played only fourteen games in a Hammers shirt, scoring no goals. West Ham tried in vain at first to get rid of McCarthy, with the South African striker rejecting a £1million offer to terminate his contract. He finally agreed to leave in April 2011, a year before his contract’s expiry, with the club paying £1.5million to remove him. West Ham vice-chairmen Karren Brady said that McCarthy “was a big fat mistake (also in reference to his bludgeoning size) that cost the club £5million.”
Jimmy Bullard
Originally known for being a cheeky and eccentric player at Wigan, he is now known for his greed. He left Fulham for Hull City in 2009, with the now-England manager Roy Hodgson saying “He’s been seeking the type of contract we couldn’t give him” about his departure. He was regularly jeered throughout his time at Hull, who thought he was a poor investment, and partly responsible for the club’s bad financial state; with Bullard being on a reported £45,000 a week. Celtic wanted to take the midfielder away from Hull, but pulled out of the deal due to his “ridiculous wage demands.” Hull’s nightmare finally disappeared last summer when he signed for Ipswich Town, where he has been a bench-warmer.
Ashley Cole
Any player with the nickname “Cashley” most obviously is greedy. Having come through Arsenal’s illustrious academy, he had been an integral part of Wenger’s team for six seasons. He was held in high regard by the Arsenal faithful. That is, until the summer of 2006. When Chelsea came calling, “Cashley” was determined for the deal to go through. Arsenal’s attempts to keep him were in vain, especially when he was left “trembling with anger” and “felt like a slave” when he was offered a measly £55,000 to stay at the club. He ended up signing for Chelsea for £90,000 a week, with this being increased to £120,000 in 2009.
Other notable mentions include: Sol Campbell, Lucas Neill, Asamoah Gyan and almost every Manchester City player (including the aforementioned Adebayor).
Football is a game now determined by greed. I would like to thank Winston Bogarde, Paul Pogba, Benni McCarthy, Jimmy Bullard, and Ashley Cole amongst others for their gracious and humble attitude towards wages. You hear stories of players fifty-plus years ago playing football for the love of the game, not for the money they got. Nowadays players play for the love of money, not for their love of football.
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Since the maximum wage was abolished, footballers have always been paid well. Nowadays, with the money pouring in from Sky – and with supreme hypocrisy, The Sun is one for continually calling players “overpaid” – I admit that players are paid fantastically well, but the simple forces of supply and demand are responsible for this. Had the players from 50+ years ago been in this situation, you would also have seen similar things.
For the record, Cashley was the preposterous nickname given to Cole AFTER the story about when he nearly swerved off the road. Are you telling me that if someone offers to nearly double your wages, you would not jump at the chance to do the same job with a more successful company? Countless teams would have paid over £55,000 a week for Cole’s services so this would make him underpaid at the time! The same with Paul Pogba who just wanted more success and saw the opportunity to make more money. Winston Bogarde, Benni McCarthy and Jimmy Bullard are merely examples of clubs’ appallingly dreadful business sense rather than the greed of players. If they are under contract for a set amount of pay, why should they take a pay cut if they do not have to?
Anyway, rant over. Incidentally, I have been a supporter of Wimbledon since I was 10 and I have seen countless players leave for bigger pay packets and greater opportunities and I bear them no grudges as did the vast majority of the other fans who stood at the Durnsford Road end. I would suggest that the greater debate about this issue is due to the sheer jealousy of middle-class journalists who, despite generally being on six figure salaries themselves, are pathologically jealous of young, working class lads made good at the expense of the basic economic model of supply and demand.
Phil
I understand your points; anyone in any position would jump at the chance to get their wages doubled.
In the case of Ashley Cole, it was the way he handled the situation that saw him gain enemies; not because he doubled his wages.
Paul Pogba would have had just as much success at Manchester united as he will at Juventus.
While Bogarde, McCarthy and Bullard all represent appalling business for the clubs, ALL of these players were offered numerous chances to leave the club,albeit at a wage loss.
I am a Barnet fan, so I know what it is like to lose key players to other clubs, much like yourself. At lower league level, this is understandable-look at Izale McLeod for example-offered the chance to at least double his wages plus play in League One.
I disagree with your point about the journalists. I think that this is the feeling of the general public; and the journalists convey this message.
In twenty, thirty years time, no matter how successful these players were, all they will be known for is their “greed”