WHY SAY ANYTHING?

A new brothel has been brought to the attention of the football authorities in Europe, (whoever they happen to be right now). This new brothel allows it’s leading prostitutes to make more money than they could ever have dreamed of had they just continued to ply their trade in Europe where they would only become multi-millionaires. Here, at the newest footballing outpost on the planet, they can become billionaires.

China has decided to take that football game seriously. They have taken the very scientific approach of commissioning case studies to find out what the average European footballer is driven by, what motivates him to get out of his goose-and-duck-down duvet covered emperor-sized bed every morning for a couple of hours training before getting back under it shortly after lunch.

Obviously, they also need the same player to perform for his public at least once, maybe occasionally twice, per week, which means that the poor souls may have to play 180 minutes of football during a seven days period.

What could they possibly use to entice players who already have everything that money can buy? Yes, you guessed it! Even more money!

Apparently Ezequiel Lavezzi of PSG is the latest to be mulling over a move to the land of the noodle. Not content with being linked to the likes of Chelsea, where he may have to be quite good to get in the team, he will at least double his salary by going to China.

Jackson Martinez has already decided he needs the extra cash, as has Alex Teixeira, who was linked with Liverpool before deciding he could live without the wind and rain on Merseyside.

There will be more. There will be more because players have agents, agents are greedy and care very little about anything other than how much money their client can make them. As I write, there will be agents trying to negotiate lucrative deals for themselves, pretending that it is for the players they represent, when nothing could be further from the truth.

My old fashioned upbringing means that I still believe that people can have more money than either they or their families can ever spend. Top footballers, in general, would come into this category. Unfortunately, top footballers are rarely gifted with top IQ’s which means that they employ others to “represent” them. In fact, the majority of “super-agents” have only acquired the title because they themselves have become mega-rich at somebody else’s expense.

They are parasites who deem themselves a necessity in todays modern sporting world. The problem is that countries such as China are taking advantage of the super-greed of these super-agents and are using that greed in order to entice players, who normally wouldn’t give a second thought to playing in China, through their tame hangers-on.

The Chinese have worked out, very quickly, that waving cash under the nose of an agent will soon have his client hopping on board a plane to the land of the beansprout, irrespective of whether or not it is in his best interests.

The winners in this new little game which could turn into a new very big game are the Chinese League and the football agents, as usual.

The losers will be the paying public in Europe, as more and more players follow the advice of their agents and head for the East. The players will get richer and richer, as will their “advisors”. The Chinese League will grow and grow and, unless something is done to prevent it, the best players will eventually head there as well.

Leagues now, such as in China and America, are ceasing to be the “elephants graveyard” and are becoming viable propositions for players young and old, with some in between.

It is the oldest profession in the world so now is not the time to outlaw it. Maybe it is time to have a look at some of the pimps involved though!