Hero To Traitor In One Move

Is it just me or is everyone who into sport / football (a modern opiate of the masses, if ever there was one) ......

Club Loyalty - Easily Demonstrated - Easily Faked

.... not thoroughly fed up of the names Gareth Bale, Wayne Rooney, and Luis Suarez?

 

The endless speculation in the media about whether they are going to 'transfer' from their respective football clubs, seems to be the main talking point of the sporting summer (not ignoring the Cricket).

• They are all multi millionaire footballers.
• They are all being courted by other clubs.
• They are all being touted around at ridiculously inflated fees (£100m, £30m and £50m respectively).

But none of them is apparently prepared to actually forgo their percentage of any deal by requesting a transfer ....

• Suarez has given interviews indicating he wants a move to either Real Madrid or Arsenal (who have bid £40,000,001) - but other than vague suggestions that he had 'an agreement' with Liverpool about £40m being a release clause if Liverpool failed to get a Champions League spot, he hasn't actually taken action that we know of - he's since had a series of minor injuries which have mostly kept him out of the pre-season friendlies until last week.

• Bale and Rooney haven't actually said anything - Bale seems set to go, but no bid from Real Madrid has formally been stated as being received, he could be priced out of a move. Rooney' like Suarez has also had a series of minor injuries, which have mostly kept him out of the pre-season friendlies until now, and Chelsea have made at least one formal bid.

Now I am aware that there is not much honour amongst thieves, or club loyalty in football anymore, but if you want to leave, and are already so rich that you earn more money in a week, than most in your family earn in a year, then surely whether or not you get another £3 million, £4 million, or even £10 million, should not be a factor in whether you leave a club or not. However, so far not one of these players has formally request a transfer in writing.

 

The clubs would rather sell (if sell they must) to a non domestic club (which makes the Bale transfer most likely of the three), but in truth they will sell for the right amount to a domestic rival rather than

(a)  Let the player run their contract down, or
(b)  Keep a player who wants to leave, and who has publicly disrespected the club (except maybe Liverpool who are desperate to keep Suarez).

So the reason why we are doomed to have weeks more of these three wealthy young men dominating the back pages of our national press, is greed. If they really wanted 'away', then they simply have to put their names to a bit of paper stating that they want to go, and in the modern game that will usually trigger the transfer/loan. Its a sad indictment of the modern game that when you pay millions for a 'star' man, as soon as he gets bored, he can engineer a move via the press, or effectively sulk his way out of a contract if another club comes in for him.

The losers are invariably the fans (especially the younger ones), who often idolise the 'Stars' - buy the replica tops, posters and other paraphernalia from the club shops etc, only to find 'last seasons hero', is now a 'traitor' reviled from the stands ..... it just didn't happen in my day!

I guess I am officially growing old ......