Preview: Thus the silly season so far is..silly, indeed. Football transfer rumours 'flying' here and there, from the reasonable ones to the downright absurd. But then it is also the time when managers, coaches are saying their players are 'unsaleable'. Unsaleable? Football does not surprise me anymore, especially when I thought about how Fabio Capello eventually landed the England job. But then I did learned something from my father when it comes to the football transfer window. In the latest unofficial football focus series.
What did my father, the original football fan in the family, used to tell me? He does not believe any deal which is being done during a football transfer window is done, until the transfer window has been shut. This was what he said during the winter transfer window last season. It came about when at that time I told him that Kaka will not be heading to Manchester City (instead, he will be on his way to Real Madrid from AC Milan). It was widely reported even, but my father does not believe it.
But it was when I replayed in my head over what my father told me at that time, it made sense. The current nature in football these days always make such matters become so unpredictable. What may be promised today may be broken the next day. Cristiano Ronaldo is on his way to Real Madrid from Manchester United, Carlos Tevez is certainly moving on and will not be playing for Manchester United next season, and over at Liverpool and Bayern Munich respectively...they say Javier Mascherano, Franck Ribery are 'unsaleable' respectively. It may be what the fans of those clubs want to hear, but...in the current silly season, how many will take it seriously?
I understand we do need to retain some of those values in football given how the world of football transfers is going along these days but, I rather prefer common sense if there is an ultimatum between the two for me. I know I do not like everything that is going on in football but it is the Bosman effect, damn it.
Okay, I know many cried foul over Real Madrid's record bid for Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo but, this is how football being run these days...isn't it? People are saying the fee for Ronaldo is 'immoral' in view of the current worldwide economic climate given it is also affecting football but, one has to see the two sides of the coin. If the fee can help to kick-start a recovery on the football transfer market, why not? In the real world, someone has to spend to get the economy back on track. Yes, I know the case of tightening the budget when it comes to football transfers but, if a club (a well-recognised one especially) can do so, it is their own choice. Not only that, I am also being reminded how FIFA president Sepp Blatter reacted. He dismissed the concerns, saying that it demonstrated the game's enduring popularity. Like how I typed back then - Considering all the while, Sepp Blatter has in the past spoken out about the huge sums of money in the game. All the more, Blatter's friend in the UEFA president Michel Platini was aghast at the record fee.
I raised the Cristiano Ronaldo issue partly in view of I myself being a Manchester United supporter. It used to be that he is unsaleable in view of what he had contributed to the club...on the pitch, that is. But since he kept making noises of wanting to join Real Madrid someday, that was when the notion had totally gone out of the window for me. It used to be that it was untolerable for me whenever the football transfer window is going on because, all the constant reports of him heading to Spain and the 'signs' that he is certainly on his way there. But even if the rumours does not intensify during the football transfer window, there were times which I just felt like asking - 'When is he leaving after all?'. Even no matter how good he is on the pitch (and a hit with the ladies), I only want to see footballers who are committed to the club they are playing for on the pitch. Why bother when someone's heart is set on elsewhere?
Cue the day when construction magnate Florentino Perez returned to Real Madrid for his second term as president, unopposed. His predecessor Ramon Calderon left under a cloud of accusations of vote-rigging during the club's annual general assembly. And that saga surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo. To the extent Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson actually once labbelled Real Madrid as 'Franco's club'...or something like that. Anyone who had an inkling of how Spain was like under the dictator of General Franco will get what Ferguson was trying to say. Anyhow, when Perez returned back to the club, the man who was famous for the 'Galaticos' era during his first term...he came back with the ambition of wrestling all the glory that their arch-rivals Barcelona had been basking in their historic treble triumph for the 2008/08 season. The domestic title, the domestic cup win...and the Champions League triumph. As someone who also watches the Bundesliga apart from the Premier League, I knew it was a matter of time Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery is the subject of transfer speculation all over again and it is time for German football to really shudder all over again over the possible departure of someone who had lighten up the league. Because Ribery's compatriot Zinedine Zidane is Perez's consultant and Zidane rate his fellow compatriot highly. Even with the constant denials from Bayern, Zidane is not perturbed though.
Back to the Cristiano Ronaldo issue. In fact, I remembered when Ramon Calderon left Real Madrid in view the allegations against him, it was a sigh of relief from the English media's perspective. But when Florentino Perez returned to his old post...those speculation surrounding Ronaldo's future was beginning to circulate once more. It was kind of freaky when it was confirmed Kaka would be heading to Real from AC Milan, I was actually wondering the day after about the case surrounding Ronaldo. Then lo and behold...the news which turned the world of football upside down. All in the same week.
I was initially relieved when it was announced on Manchester United's website in regards to the bid. Then the case how I want to remember Cristiano Ronaldo starting 'flooding' my head. Also at the same time, another issue popped into my head.
It used to be that recent retired footballer and AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini once saw Kaka as his natural successor to the club captaincy. But when the Brazilian decided to make the switch, that was when it made me realised that even with someone like Kaka's status to the Serie A giants is moving on...what price for footballers who had achieved some sort of status at the clubs they play for moving on for whatever reasons?
Now this leaves me with the case of Franck Ribery and Bayern Munich and the Bundesliga. Despite this is Ribery's second season in Germany, his skills lighten up Germany's top-flight football. He is rated so highly to the extent that Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness once declared that he is better than Real Madrid-bound Kaka. But even Ribery is rated that highly, questions will always surface as to whether is he really that good because he had been linked with a move to England apart from Spain too. But it is the weather in England which is putting the Frenchman off.
But then again, how many will take those words of Franck Ribery seriously? He is considered 'unsaleable' by Bayern Munich but, look what is happening to Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. Unsaleable, eh? Tell me about it.
