Ex-Arsenal player, Alex Song has admitted that he didn’t leave Arsenal for Barcelona because he wanted to play for them but because he wanted to make more money, reports the Sun.
The Cameronian spent seven seasons with the Gunners but Barcelona came calling in 2012 and he didn’t think twice about moving to Catalonia, not because the Spaniards had offered him more playing time but because of how much money that was being offered to him.
He claimed that when he started playing for the Gunners he struggled with his lifestyle and he spent all his earnings on trying to compete with the likes of Thierry Henry.
He struggled to save as little as £100k as a player for the Gunners, however; he claimed that when he got the offer from Barcelona and he looked at how much he would earn, he didn’t care that he had been told that he would spend more time on the bench when he joined them.
The ex-Gunner said: “Most footballers live beyond their means. I was at Arsenal for eight years but only began to earn a good living in the last four.
“That was because my salary went up a lot – but also because I came to realise what a waster I was.
“When I first joined them I was getting £15,000 a week. I was a young lad, and I was ecstatic.
“I wanted to rub shoulders with the big boys. I could shop wherever I wanted and have crazy nights out.
“I would go to training and see Thierry Henry – the King – turn up in an absolute gem of a car. I told myself I wanted the same car at all costs.
“I went to the dealership, signed the papers and arranged to pay for it by standing order – and just like that I had the same car as The King.
“But I swear that I had to hand the car back inside two months. All my money was going on filling it with petrol.
“I told them: ‘Give me a Toyota – this car’s too much for me.’
“When I next went to training Thierry asked me: ‘Where’s your car, son?’ I told him it’s on a higher level than me.
“During my entire time at Arsenal I couldn’t even save £100,000, while people thought I must be a millionaire.
“When Barcelona offered me a contract, and I saw how much I would earn, I didn’t think twice. I felt my wife and children should have comfortable lives once my career is over.
“I met Barca’s sporting director, and he told me I would not get to play many games.
“But I didn’t give a f*** – I knew that now I would become a millionaire.
“I’ll always say that a 20-year-old who drives a Ferrari is a poor man, as at that age he’s not yet achieved anything.
“But a man of 50 who drives a Bentley is a man to be respected.”
