Emmanuel Adebayor is a character seemingly incapable of avoiding chaos or controversy. The now 36-year-old’s time at Spurs was soured with off-field issues, and it isn’t unfair comment to suggest he would probably struggle to find many of his former clubs that were prepared to offer him a hero’s welcome, should he ever show up at one of them again.
The footballing fraternity (such that it is) has been rocked by the pandemic and many* are looking to top-flight footballers to help out those who aren’t millionaires, scheduled to retire before they are 40.
However, Adebayor isn’t in a giving mood. Nor is he keeping his contempt for those asking for a handout, to himself.
Ade’s current lucky employers are Club Olimpia in Paraguay, and it doesn’t sound like the Togan is anywhere close to volunteering for a pay cut or deferral.
Opinion
If nothing else, you have to admire his honesty. At least he’s not hiding behind a South American #PlayersTogether initiative.
*For me, I just want Spurs players to stop draining the club’s current resources, so we still have a club after they’ve all retired to Monaco or wherever…
Exactly, why would the likes of Real, Bayern and Man Utd want to make the game fairer? I am a dreamer though, wouldn’t be a Spurs fan without being. Stating that though, Dallas Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl for over 20 years, yet are the most valuable club in the world, by some distance too. That must really appeal to Levy.
A lot of club owners would love a salary cap, but I can’t see it working as it would need to be European wide and I can’t see Barca and Real who use big salaries to compete against the money bags clubs like City and PSG wouldn’t agree to it. American sport with the lottery system of new talent is much fairer and ensures no team dominates year after year, but again that wouldn’t suit the United’s and City’s and Bayerns and Reals, Barcas who want to buy their Leagues.
A salary cap would make the league more even, but only if it is the same maximum figure for all. The big boys would want a % figure based on revenue, bit like FFP spending, that then would keep them at the top. Apart from the franchise model, where teams just up sticks and move, I like how the American sports leagues operate and the cap could be worked in to the league(s). Would also be nice to stop City in the north and Chelsea in the south ‘acquiring’ most of the young talent too, just so their business model operates well and they make money by loaning, then selling. Sorting the academy system though is too big a problem to solve in one go though. Dele Alli at MK rarely happens. They got £5m but the big clubs leach lower teams’ academies and reap the benefits, just like Liverpool and Sterling who was at QPR. No wonder Brentford packed their academy in.
At least Gareth Bale has stepped up and maybe shown a few others what can be done. He has donated £500, 000 to the NHS in Wales and a similar amount in Spain. If the clubs start to ask for contracts to be adjusted in line with the new financial reality the likely explosive response will be worth watching. The complete silence from the players fund tells us how well that is going. Maybe players are seeing that the future holds big cutbacks in salary and are adopting a hold onto everything I’ve got attitude because the days of wine and roses are over.