Contracts have come to be more like suggestions rather than obligations. What would 'enforceable' actually mean in real terms?
If you jump off a bridge into the beck where I walk my lab you'd be lucky to get muddy at the moment. He can practically walk from one side of the Ouse to the other, except for about ten foot either side of the middle.
Personally, I think they aren't. I think clubs are worthless, spineless, and considered all about the size of the fee. Sure, you have to protect your assets from a business perspective, but that is just the sad state of football. A club can always refuse to tear up the contract the player signed. They can refuse to put buy-out clauses or first refusal clauses or whatever clauses they know will hurt them. They can tell the player he will simply not play until he gets back to doing his job, which he signed up to do, and got paid handsomely for. So it demotivates the player, they don't play, pick up wages, do nothing else, waste time and money for nothing. But it helps kick them into gear (see Tevez). Most clubs aren't in the position to waste their time and money like that, but I gained respect for City when they did that.
I too was impressed by City's determination to keep Tevez, the problem is that in reality it got them nowhere! He never returned to the form he was in(One of the best strikers in the prem at the time) before the whole debacle and his value dropped 20+m in the mean time. In hindsight it would have been much better if they had sold Tevez and reinvested the money In another player(Van percie). Although they didn't need to sell to buy, in the long term it meant they had a weaker squad and it has repercussions in the financial fair play rules. Its interesting that the financial fair play rules may give the players even more contract power because its in the interest of even the very rich clubs to keep the players value high and cash in when its at its highest.
You can not keep unhappy players. If Suarez wants to leave he can go at the right price after putting in a transfer request.
Some players just want to play for the biggest and best teams. But I seriously not understand the motive if he joined Arsenal - yes they have CL but come on ...
I agree with you. I can fully understand him wanting to get out of the country - whether he brought it on himself or not - but if he moves to another PL club it just makes a mockery of his reason for wanting out of LFC. I don't think he will go to Arsenal btw.
