China making EPL stars act strange News

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China making EPL stars act strange

By Daily Sports on January 17, 2017

It is often said that there's nothing money cannot buy. We joke about it in the playground at times how the sudden ownership of millions or billions can make someone start to behave in ways that could verge from the very proud to overt over excitement. The possibility of making lots of money can also make one agitated especially when there’s something standing in the way.

In the world of football, there’s the China revolution sweeping across the top leagues in Europe, threatening the fabric of the European game and threatening to rob them of their top players. Chinese clubs are offering huge, huge money to top players in their attempts to lure these players to grace the Chinese league and suddenly some of the top players’ heads seem to have been turned and they are acting strangely now.

First was mercurial midfielder Dimitri Payet of West Ham and France who bluntly told his club he won’t be playing for them anymore and that he wants a move away. The rumor is that there’s a Chinese club behind his agitation to leave. West Ham has said a firm no to his request simply because they are engaged in a relegation battle.

Then there was Chelsea and Spain striker Diego Costa. He’s in red hot form and has banged in 15 Premier League goals so far and has been the chief architect of Chelsea’s current number one position in the English Premier league. Last week he claimed to have had a shoulder injury and refused to train. Chelsea’s medical staff had him checked up and saw nothing wrong with his health. He was adamant about his refusal to train and reportedly had a shouting match with manager Antonio Conte who was said to have told him to ‘go to China’. For a player who had appeared reborn this season, looking more focused and discipline, to suddenly act like that was shocking. There’s seemingly an offer from China for him and the pay package must have turned his head.

Then last weekend, Arsenal and Chile’s dynamic attacker Alexis Sanchez behaved in a petulant way by sulking after he was substituted in the closing minutes of his side’s comfortable 4-0 away win over Swansea. Sanchez looked very unhappy, sat away from his teammates in the bench, had his head covered and walked away into the tunnel so coldly. It was a bizarre watching him behave that way. Arsenal have not yet been able to convince him to pen a new deal with his current contract having only about 18 months to run. Again there are rumors that he has received a mega offer from a Chinese club, and his behavior on Saturday evening suggests that he’s head may have been turned as well.

What should we think about these players strange behavior and their seeming desire to go the Far East to make big money? Well, the nature of the average human being is to make as much money as possible and these players are no different. Besides, these players have many commitments that require money and they have dependants who need desperately, the money that they can give. So they are well within their rights to want to go to China or anywhere else to make money.

I’m only surprised and pissed off by the antics they are applying to force the clubs to sell them. There could be finer ways of making it clear that you want to break your contract. But players must understand that they need to respect their contracts with clubs and that clubs must act to protect their interests even if it means keeping an unhappy player.

These clubs may just need to find the right way and time to cut these players loose because there are usually unhappy endings for both clubs and players if they persist on the path of quarrel over the players desire to leave.

Source Daily Sports

Posted January 17, 2017