Modern Footballers: LOYALTY or Just the MONEY

Manchester United and Premier league fans as well regularly accuse Chilean star Alexis Sanchez of *being a fraud*. Earning thousands of £uros for literally sitting on the bench.

The football business is very entertaining to watch or read about. Big money moves,endorsement deals,new contract deals, earnings per minute,you name them…

For most footballers, its all about the money though they certainly will deny it. For others its about getting the best of their careers,only a few remain stuck with one club throughout their career. These few player are tagged *loyal ones* by the media and fans as well. They love their club,teammates and fans thus making it nearly impossible to leave the club. “It feels like home” they claim.

Footballers normally move from smaller clubs to trophy winning ones. Players like Mbappe,Ronaldo,Dybala,Hazard all passed through this stage. Player status also improves in transfer deals for the likes of Salah(Roma to Liverpool),Depay(PSV to ManU) these moves become turning points in the footballer’s career.

The few set of footballers like De Rossi,Totti,Gerrard were loyal to their respective clubs mainly because of the passion they had for these clubs and what they meant to each of them. Both De Rossi and Totti retired at Roma while Steven Gerrard faced both the good,the bad and the ugly with Liverpool till the very end despite not achieving his dream of lifting the Premier league.

Only a few loyal players still remain today. The likes of Lionel Messi and Marco Reus! Though Messi has won everything at Club level with Barcelona, the 5 time Ballon D’or winner was tempted with a 3X salary deal to join Manchester City but Leo declined the MEGA offer. Probably because Barca is miles ahead of City in terms of quality but regardless most players would grab such opportunity with both hands without looking back. The same strategy used by China to attract Hulk,Oscar,Tevez,Benatia and many more.

When it comes to club loyalty,the most popular footballer in this rare category has to be Dortmund’s star Marco Reus. The Germany winger is fans favorite at the Signal Iduna Park. He’s talented and goal threatening but what makes football fans love Reus even more is his loyalty to Borussia Dortmund considering former stars left to main rivals Bayern Munich(The prodigal one Mario Gotze,Lewandowski and Hummels). Though their moves were the right one in order to win trophies. But Reus remains the only Dortmund player who said NO to mighty Bayern.

The last set of footballers: *The money makers*. Does the names Neymar or Sanchez ring a bell? The former Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal and the current Sanchez of United are two very opposite players. Sanchez might finally gotten his dream as the highest Premier league earner but he’s also currently the *biggest flop* since his move. Maybe it’s the curse of the CR7 number pulling him down,no one knows. Another money man Zlatan Ibrahimovic loves registering his stunning goals with top clubs across Europe while Neymar felt overshadowed by Lionel Messi and left to join Paris Saint-Germain becoming the most expensive footballer currently though a recent analysis shows Barcelona’s Messi is still the highest wage earner in the football world.

Football is evolving everyday,becoming more business than passion for the game. Each footballer knows what he plays for. Either for their career,to make history or just for the MONEY?