Why Money Grabbing Claims Are Fuelled by Hypocrisy...

Money grabbing claims and why they are largely hypocritical...

BY ARCHIE BARNETT

This is an opinionated article, you may not agree, you may strongly agree. Your perception may completely change.

“Money grabbing” is for sure a matter of public interest at the moment, with many claims that players such as Raheem Sterling are moving for the money and the money alone.

Not only Sterling, but almost every player that comes to Manchester City (and even other clubs) does so with the aim of making money, not winning trophies, or bettering themselves. It’s all about the money.

Now, this may be true in some cases – it’s the world of football that we have to unfortunately get used to. Loyalty exists, but when it comes down to it, how does love of a club compare to taking the next step in your career and potentially winning trophies?

Let me put it in everyday life terms for you and I – you’re happy in your current role, you love the job, the people you work with, you put your all in everyday for the company. However, you see a nice new role, a very shiny role, something that betters your career. You can move up from an assistant to an executive. You’ll be working on bigger tasks, for a higher profile company, completing work at a much higher level and even better, you get a nice pay rise! 

What do you do? Do you stay at the company that is paying you less and not pushing you to your complete potential? The answer you’re probably looking for is no, you wouldn’t stay. You would leave all your colleagues, your company, the job you loved behind in the search of bettering yourself.

You go onto higher money at your new place; your ex-colleagues are claiming you’ve just left for the money. Sure, they are probably right; this has a big role in your move, as well as the advance in your career. Do you feel they are wrong in their viewing of you?

Of course you do, you feel that you have moved onto bigger things in your life, performing at a higher level, with the pay rise a nice bonus at the end of it (or in most cases, the main reason you moved).

Now, if you think that players are simply in it for the money, think again. You might be right; maybe they are in it for the money. But are you? Would you move company for a large pay rise for even the same role? Again, of course you probably would. This reason is what answers the headline of this article, ourselves and footballers aren’t too distant, at the end of the day we’re all employees for (you may not like this) a business.

The only real difference is that the football business is far more lucrative than the one you and I are in and this is why you perceive the choices made in the different sectors so distant from each other.

Loyalty still exists in football, there’s just a very thin line between being loyal and bettering your career.Next time you call footballers money grabbing, it’s good to take a step back and think, hang on a minute – what would I do if I was in a similar situation? The whole argument is fuelled by hypocrisy.