Football

The Day Football Lost It’s Mind: Gareth Bale

I am not a football fan. I’m gonna flag this up early on. I am neither a die-hard supporter nor a fair weather fan. Yes I do watch a game if it’s something substantial like the World Cup, but mainly because either my favourite television drama gets cancelled or my boyfriend refuses to change the channel.

Today Real Madrid have broken the world transfer record by signing Gareth Bale in a six year contract worth a staggering £85.3m! The 24 year old Tottenham forward looks to earn £300,000 a week, eclipsing the deal which saw Cristiano Ronaldo move from Manchester United to Real Madrid for a mere £80m.

Right.

I’m going to rant now and I apologise in advance.

£300,000 a week?!  I mean really. I am of the opinion that the majority of footballers are self-indulgent, womanising wimps who are paid an obscene amount of money for kicking a ball around once in awhile. I am not tarring them all with the same brush before some of you jump up to defend them but the majority of them are in the news more for their extra-curricular activities than anything else! If they spent less time sleeping with their teammate’s wives and more time doing something worthwhile with their lives then maybe I’d have less grief with them.

This is not a dig at Gareth Bale. I am sure he is a very nice young man who, I’m told, is very talented. I just fail to see how that talent could possibly be worth £34 a minute! He is not a doctor, or a lawyer, or in the army. He does not rescue civilians in war torn countries, cure HIV nor is he fighting for world peace. He kicks a bit of leather round a field.

How in this day and age is this acceptable? How can we as a society be willing to spend £85m on one man while there are still people in Africa struggling to feed themselves? Why are these young footballers paid such an obscene amount of money when men return from Iraq with no support and funding despite putting their lives on the line?

It sickens me that this transfer is acceptable, that no-one has stepped in and said “Hold on guys, anyone else think this is all a bit silly?” Makes you wonder where the line is.

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