Money ruins football

"Money 
Get away 
You get a good job with good pay and you're okay 
Money 
It's a gas 
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash 
New car, caviar, four star daydream 
Think I'll buy me a football team"

Pink Floyd

Some 40 years ago Roger Waters made a fairly precise prophecy to what football would become after the millennium. This is what happens to the most popular sport worldwide, it's turned into an efficient high-scale business. Money buys the clubs, money buys the players, money buys the cups.

Decades ago a player switching to a different club would have said, "I'm honored to move to Madrid. I'm honoured to move to Liverpool". Today he says, "There's an interesting project out there in Zenit" or "Paris is a nice place to be in" or "Weather is not that bad up in Manchester". If I ask myself whether these words are sincere, I would have just one answer – "Boy, you have to learn to read between the lines". Because nobody is brave enough to admit, "I came here for money, I want to get new car, caviar and four star daydream" Or whatever those overrated players require these days...Oh, there was one honest man, called Samuel Eto'o, who seemed to have made a terrible mistake by joining the Russian side Anzhi from, Jesus, Makhachkala. But Eto'o decided against playing the rules of the double-faced colleagues and was frank enough to claim, "If anybody tells you he would not accept such a lucrative offer and would not move to Russia, he's a liar". Bravo, Samuel! That explains the move to a twenty-year old club after the most successful spells with Barcelona and Internazionale. But most of the players keep pretending they move for family reasons, for the chance to win silverware and what not but for the money. Look at Zlatan Ibrahimovic. No doubts, a pure talent. But isn't it pathetic to blast every single team you've left? He's passed through most of European giants and has dumped all of them the day he was out of the club. Lately he has called Barcelona a mediocre team. Is that a self-advertising trick? Be a good Middle East toy, Zlatan!

When a player wants to get a raise, what does he do? Correct, he starts spreading the rumors on his possible exodus. Which is actually blackmail. They do not care about the history of the clubs any more, they don't have a clue what derby is. All that matters is wages. I recall Paolo Maldini words, that one can only become a great player in a great club. But many starlets that come across the world to great clubs consider the job done just by getting in the squad and opening a bank account. Gennaro Gattuso left the legendary AC Milan horrified by the attitude of modern players to their duties, "They deem it possible to be late for training after a night spent in a club. No respect for teammates, for coach, for fans, for themselves."

Football is a powerful money-making industry nowadays, with the best designers elaborating the most sophisticated outfits, with stadium owners trying to get every penny out of the fan's pocket, with multi-million TV broadcasts. No wonder many players have enhanced their diving techniques drastically – you fall over, you score penalty, you get the bonus for the win. No respect, no dignity – just money. Players turn into media stars by tweeting some stupid comments.

Football ‘s become a Broadway theatre run by Arab or Russian tycoons. Guess who is the audience, paying for the show?