Diego Costa was dropped from the Chelsea squad last week, with news emerging of the players desire to move to China in the January transfer window. With Chelsea storming to the summit of the league at a blistering pace and Costa’s goals firing him to the top of the scoring charts, the news came as a shock to most premier league fans. Could this derail Chelsea’s title bid was a question everyone asked, however, it was the idea of a player of Diego Costa’s calibre, still in his prime, demanding a move away from a top European club to play in China that caused the most controversy.
Costa would not have been the first player to make the move to the Chinese league from what are perceived as “elite” leagues, and he won’t be the last - but he would be the first player demanding a place in a Premier League starting 11 to make the move. Unlike Oscar, Costa is a player who is guaranteed to play under Conte when fit and the fact that a player in that position would even consider moving to the Chinese league has been met with criticism from fans across England. Why would a player leave such a prestigious club like Chelsea to go to a club with very little history and a league that is far less established?
Similar to the start of the Premier League?
When the Premier League first came into money through television deals, sponsorships and more recently - rich owners, there was an influx of players from across Europe, joining unfamiliar English clubs.
A lot of these players didn’t join those clubs because of their history or the challenge of playing in the English league - a lot of them joined for money. The average wage in the Premier Division rocketed to new heights and players were being paid dramatically more than in other leagues across Europe. This was an exciting time for all English fans and the quality of the players joining the league catapulted the Premier League to what is now - the biggest league in the world.
Astronomical Wages
With Rooney earning £300k per week and many more players earning a similar amount, it is fair to say that English clubs pay astronomical wages, rivalled only by a few other clubs in world Football.These wages are still increasing at an alarming rate. So are we in danger of becoming hypocrites for questioning players commitment to their “jobs” by moving for financial motivation when a large proportion of the players we support at our clubs are doing the same?
We are lucky enough to have the most competitive and commercialised league in world football, but players will move to a new league if they are offered an amount even they, would only dream of. There is an argument that they are already on enough money so they do not need the extra £100k per week, but in an environment where there is little to no loyalty, why do we expect foreign players to stay in the English league until they are no longer wanted?
Only time will tell if China can be successful
Only time will tell whether China does become a football force, both domestically and internationally, they certainly have the money and the potential to do so. They are currently going through a period similar to that of the Premier League in its early stages and it is inevitable some big names and some players in their peak will leave to join the revolution, but we should not complain about this, otherwise we are all in danger of becoming hypocrites.
