By Antonney Oduor
In football, money is everything. It is why players play for it. In short, it’s the King in massive transfers to astronomical salaries.
Countries like China pay hefty sums to attract players but not all players want the money. They only wished to continue with their careers.
Here is a list of five players who chose their careers over that big sum of money.
Cristiano Ronaldo. He was approached by a Chinese club in 2016. They made him an unbelievable offer of more than 330M dollars and an annual salary of more than 110M dollars. ‘Money isn’t everything. Real Madrid is his life.’ Jorge Mendes (Ronaldo’s agent via Sky Sport Italia). Ronaldo’s too short on championship wins to leave for China.
Frank Ribery: Roomers claimed that he was headed to the Middle East but, in the end, the French national star joined Fiorentina. One of Serie A’s most legendary teams. It looked like a good challenge for the Bayern legend.
Daniele De Rossi: after his career in Rome, he signed for Argentina. With Boca Juniors where he’ll play the famous Bombera. That’s what we call a decision of the heart. He went to a country that lives and breathes football with some of the best fans in the entire world. And the perfect challenge; the Copa Libertadores.
Yaya Touré; also caught interest in China back in 2017. At 33 he might be tempted by the big money but he decided to stay where he could play at the highest levels. ‘ Even with all the money in China, there is nobody there that plays on Yaya’s Level.’ Dimitri Saluki (Yaya’s agent). That said, but when he was 36, he eventually went to China.
Andre-Pierre Gignac: the French striker left Olympique De Marseille in 2015 to go to play in Mexico. He’s since become a legend with Tigress with 109 goals, he’s the club all-time goals scorer. And he has won great trophies with the team. He is adored by his fans and draws incredible fans.
There are still some players who play for the love of the game but not for the money.