Ok guys, I think I really need to correct a lot of very faulty and anti-athlete assumptions that most of you have.
...He said it was his dream to play at Man U, and now he will do anything to get to Chelsea, he only cares about money...
Let me ask you this. How much loyalty will you have to your KFC Manager if the Taco Bell next door offers you $15 an hour? I think every one of us is changing uniforms. Soccer is A BUSINESS. These men make their livings doing it (and they only have about 15 years to make all the money for the rest of their lives) and when they treat soccer clubs as employers there's never a shortage of you people calling for their heads. They are using the same tactics all of us would use to get the best salary to support their families. I know it seems wrong for me to say they are looking out for their families when they make millions, but it's true, and since they can't play soccer until they're 65 (we can work that long), they need to make money for 70 years. The only loyalty you can expect from a professional athlete is the same loyalty you would show to your own employer... if you're offered a better deal, that's very little.
...Essien signed a 3 year contract with Lyon, if he didn't intend to see it out, he shouldn't have signed it in the first place...
This might come as a shock to some of you, but not everyone has 20/20 forsignt. He didn't know when the best financial opportunity of his life would come up, but this is clearly it and it is his right to take it. If I have a 2 year contract with the State Attorney's Office and a Huge Law Firm wanted to make me partner and give me a million dollar salary, I don't care what that contract I signed says, this is the opportunity of my life! Hmmm.... so I can work for the State my entire life for pittance, or I could seize the opportunity. It's my right to take it. Yes, some sort of buyout will be necessary to get out of my contract, but guess what guys, that isn't determined by my employer and no one else, it's what is FAIR as judged by an impartial arbitrator. Lyon are asking an UNFAIR amount to release Essien from his contract, and therefore are violating his rights, rights that all of us certainly would claim for ourselves in a comparable situation.
Step back from the situation and think of athletes, not as heros or any garbage like that, but as hard working employees like the rest of us. Unfortunately they are supposed to be loyal and miss out on the best opportunities of their lives because idiots care WAY too much about games. Loyalty to a club? Get that mess outta here.
