‘Money isn’t everything’ – not something you’d typically expect to hear from a top football agent.
These are the people at the epicentre of the increasingly farcical financial pantomime that is top flight football.
As the money flowing into the Premier League has gone from silly to ridiculous over the last decade, football agents have become increasingly successful at securing ludicrous transfer fees and wage packets for their players. Which, to be fair, is their job.
But as such they haven’t acquired a reputation for taking a philosophical approach to life’s priorities.
And now that China has decided to dedicate its vast resources to becoming the number one football super power, the money being chucked at players ratcheted up from ridiculous to astronomical.
Chelsea’s Oscar has been the latest in a long line of players who’ve now been tempted to cash in with the Chinese Super League.
The 25-year-old is set to join Shanghai SIPG’s for a £60m fee. The club is reportedly going to pay the midfielder £400,000 a week, making him the highest paid footballer on the planet.
We imagine Oscar’s agent is pretty happy with the deal, even if it means his client is effectively ditching any chance of having a meaningful playing career.
However according to The Metro Patrick De Koster, who represents De Bruyne, had some words of caution for the young Brazilian about putting money before ambition.
He told the Belgian paper Sporza:
“Right now, I would never advise him to go there. Money is one thing, but football is fun, and having fun in your job is important.
“It’s an interesting story for mature players who can go big there. If I were Oscar’s agent, I’m not sure I’d recommend it to him.
“You’re running the risk of falling into oblivion. But on the other side, if after four years in oblivion you end up with €160 million to your account, that’s maybe not so bad.”
So at least that’s one player Pep doesn’t have to worry about being seduced by a massive Chinese payday then.
