There is much debate over the use of the term ‘mercenary’ in soccer in recent years. Many believe there are too many players driven only by money as the salaries at the top end of the sport seem to rise every year to astronomical levels. In 2010 former Tottenham defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto admitted to being a mercenary, but claimed he was the only man brave enough to concede it, stating “I don’t understand why, when I say I play for the money, people were shocked. Oh, he’s a mercenary. Every player is like that.” There is undoubtedly some truth in what he says, and his honesty is somewhat refreshing. It would be brilliant if all players were passionate about the club they played for and felt attached to said team beyond a written contract, but deep down we all know this is no longer the case. Although, whilst almost all players will seek the best possible contract for themselves, there is an added degree of cynicism tied to the label of a ‘mercenary’. Therefore, to make this list of great mercenaries in the sport, it is not enough merely to have perused a lucrative contract for oneself. These individuals either displayed avarice above and beyond the call of duty, showed a complete lack of ambition, gave false impressions of attachment to the clubs they played for or happily auctioned themselves off to the highest bidder with little or no respect for the team who they were under contract with at the time. Full details(I'd never heard of the kid at No.1)... http://www.thesportster.com/soccer/top-10-mercenaries-in-soccer/
I would agree with most of them Madge but (I don't know if you would class this as a mercenary) the bloke that amazes me is Mario Balotelli. This bloke was scoring goals for fun until his 12/13 season with Man City where he scored 1 from 14 games. He then went to Milan and again started to score for fun (or so his stats would suggest) he then comes back to the EPL with Liverpool and has (so far) managed 1 from 13 games! I have watched him at times where he displays a touch of real class but mostly ambles around like he is totally disinterested.
During our first stint in the Premiership off hand there's Daniel Cousin, Kamil Zayate and Anthony Gardner. Cousin never looked bothered on the pitch, Anthony Gardner and Kamil Zayate couldn't wait to leave, wanted a higher standard of football and eventually ended up at Wednesday. To the complete other end of the spectrum I'm led to believe that Macca and Zinedine Kilbane both deferred / halved their wages for a longer contract to save us when we were relegated. Then there's the story of Johnny Eyre while at Scunny begging Hately in Waterfront to join us.
Balotelli doesn't deserve to be on a thread about mercenaries, he is a more of a lost soul than a money grabber. Loads of stories about him giving away his money and helping people. I think you need to look at some of the other lads at Liverpool to find mercenaries
No, I hadn't Harry but another poster did mention this. Kudo's to him for that but it doesn't alter the fact that his football seems to have fallen away, however, I certainly would not class him as a 'mercenary' after the generous way he has donated money.
