| |
 Player vs. club battles continue Contract demands make Keane latest British press target
Posted: Tuesday August 10, 1999 12:21 PM
It has been the talking point of the summer: players demanding more money and threatening to walk out. First Juventus' Alessandro del Piero stalls for 10 months before signing a new contract reportedly worth US$10 million a season. Along the way, negotiations break down repeatedly and half the clubs in Europe, well aware that his contract was due to expire next June, come knocking at the door. Then, in the longest running soap of the summer, French forward Nicolas Anelka whines and moans about how unhappy he is at Arsenal and demands a transfer. He professes his love for Real Madrid, then for Lazio and finally ends up being sold to Madrid. All this after being branded everything from "greedy" (for wanting more money) to "spoiled" (for not appreciating Arsenal) to "unethical" (for not wishing to honor his contract with the Gunners). Now, Manchester United's captain, Roy Keane, whose current deal expires in June of next year, is in a similar situation. He has been a loyal servant to the club and it's fair to say that if he hadn't been around last season, Manchester United would have had about as much of a chance of winning the Champions League as D.C. United. At the age of 28, Keane is looking for one last big payday: a five year contract which will set him up for life. Negotiations have broken down and restarted several times already, and he is expected to announce a decision in the very near future. He is reportedly asking for US$3.2 million per season, while United is offering US$2.5 million. A lot of money to be sure, but clearly less than he could make in Italy or Spain, where he has attracted the attention of the likes of Inter Milan, Juventus and Barcelona. If Real Madrid's Clarence Seedorf can finagle a reported US$6 million offer from Inter Milan, then surely Keane is worth at least US$3.2 million a year, no? Not according to the British press, which is beginning to sharpen its knives and put Keane through the same treatment it gave Anelka: a skewering followed by a nice roasting. "Greed! Greed! Greed!" scream the tabloids. Well, anybody can trot out the old argument about a nurse or a policeman (or anybody else doing a more socially-important job than a soccer player) making less in a year than Keane makes in week. It's a silly, banal argument and one that's been around for ages. Indeed, one of the most famous anecdotes in the United States involves legendary baseball player Babe Ruth being asked how he could justify making more than the President. "I had a better year than he did," was the simple reply. Whimsical, but true. In no other job would a person be so pilloried for switching employers. In no other profession would you be termed greedy for wanting to make more money. Public opinion, egged on by the clubs, has crucified players like Anelka, Steve McManaman (who tripled his wages by moving to Real Madrid) and Del Piero. They may well do the same with Keane. Even Ronaldo got a similar treatment when he left Barcelona for Inter Milan two years ago. Indeed, some speculated that his agents were planning to move him every year, thereby earning themselves a fat commission. Many traditionalists yearn for the good, old days when soccer players made little more than milkmen and when clubs owned them cradle-to-grave. One-club men, guys who spent their entire career with a single team and spilt blood and guts for the club colors, are held up as the paragon of soccer virtue. Of course, what they don't tell you is that those same guys often drugged themselves silly with painkillers in a moronic attempt to show how loyal they were. Or that when they got injured, they were tossed out to the scrap heap. Or that many ended their careers mired in poverty.
It is players who entertain us. It is players who inspire us. And it is players who make us love the game. Player power is not a dirty word. It is players getting the same rights as any other worker. I don't think anybody buys a ticket to Real Madrid so that they can spend 90 minutes in the company of club chairman Lorenzo Sanz. Whether we like it or not, soccer finally has something approaching free market. If somebody is willing to pay Del Piero US$10 million or even US$100 million, it is because they believe it makes sense to do so. So back to Keane. Is he worth US$3.2 million a season? The answer is complex: yes, but maybe not to Manchester United. Keane is arguably the best defensive midfielder in the world. If you look at the kind of money he is asking for and how much top players in Italy and Spain earn the answer is an emphatic yes. But if you look at Manchester United, a club that has gone out of its way to keep player salaries down (and investor earnings up), then the answer is probably not. If it gives Keane US$3.2 million a year, it will need to bump up salaries across the board, from Paul Scholes to Jaap Stam. And, if it does that, then David Beckham has every right to ask for US$10 million a year, almost five times what he is making now. So from United's point of view it would not make sense. Which means that unless Keane has a last-minute change of heart, he will leave the club and become a very, very rich man. Though not quite as rich as Seedorf.
Extra TimeGermany's Bundesliga kicks off this weekend, and once again the familiar faces will be fighting for the top spot. Bayern Munich is the defending champion, but it is dealing with more than its share of turmoil. Having said goodbye to stalwart defender Thomas Helmer and Iranian striker Ali Daiei, Bayern strengthened its squad with Brazilian forward Paulo Sergio (from Roma) and veteran Swedish defender Patrik Andersson (from Borussia Moenchengladbach). Living legend Lothar Matthaeus will also be leaving at some point, bound for MLS. Then there's young Paraguayan Roque Santa Cruz, a guy who's being compared to Diego you-know-who. The team is obviously better on paper, but coach Ottmar Hitzfeld's biggest concern will be keeping the controversy under wraps, especially muzzling the sniperish Matthaeus and the volatile Mario Basler. Borussia Dortmund spent big on big names like Fredi Bobic (from Stuttgart), Nigerian striker Victor Ikpeba (from Monaco) and defender Christian Worns (from Paris St. Germain). What do they all have in common? Not one of them has ever lived up to his potential, though they have all showed flashes of brilliance. Expect Borussia to challenge for the title, but ultimately pay the price for its inconsistency. Hertha Berlin took everyone by storm last season, and in Sebastian Deisler boasts a genuine talent. But winning the title would be a stretch. As for the likes of Kaiserslautern, if French magician Youri Djorkaeff (acquired from Inter Milan) proves everyone wrong and shows that he is still a world-beater, and if savvy manager Otto Rehhagel can conjure up some of the old magic, it may surprise an opponent or two. Which leaves my choice to take the Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen. Christoph Daum is one of the most intelligent managers around, and with Ze Roberto and Emerson, it has half (admittedly the unglamorous half) of Brazil's starting midfield in the Copa America. The team has progressed steadily over the last few years and newly acquired striker Oliver Neuville could be just the man to push it to the top.
London-based Gabriele Marcotti writes a weekly column on international soccer for CNNSI.com. To submit questions or comments to Gabriele Marcotti, click here.
| |||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||||
