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Barcelona footballer: "I didn't mind being a 'benchwarmer' for the money I earned"”>Alex Song is a Cameroonian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Arta-Solar 7 of the Djibouti First Division. However, between 2005 and 2012 he was one of the starting players for Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal to later sign for Barcelona. However, he did not have many opportunities and his game did not finish convincing at the Camp Nou, which is why the Barça club gave him the West Ham for two seasons. After his time in the Hammers and given that he was completely discarded by the azulgranas, the player terminated his contract with the Spanish team and signed for the Rubin Kazan Russian where, with the help of ex-Málaga coach, Javi Gracia, he hoped to get back his great performance from previous years.
Now, installed in the modest Djibouti league, in the Horn of Africa, he has analyzed his time in the elite and with some surprising statements in which he assured that he prioritized money over sporting success, something that never interested him. This was the main reason why he decided to sign for Barça, even knowing that he was not going to play. He has confessed to Pascal Siakam, NBA star, in an Instagram chat.
“Most footballers live beyond their means. I was at Arsenal for eight years, but only started making a good living in the last four. That was because my salary went up a lot, but also because I realized how wasteful what was it. When I first joined them, I was earning €15,000 a week. I was a young boy and I was ecstatic,” revealed Song, who chose to play for the Cameroon national team as his country of birth despite having an offer from France. The midfielder continued analyzing his past: «I wanted to rub shoulders with the greats. I could buy where I wanted and spend crazy Nights. I went to training and saw Thierry Henry, the King, showing up with a real gem of a car. I told myself that I wanted the same car at all costs. I went to the dealership, signed the papers and the loan, and thus I had the same car as The King. But I swear I had to return it two months later. All my money was being spent on filling it with gasoline. I told them: ‘Give me a Toyota, this car is too much for me’».
Alex Song also reveals the conversation he had with Henry about it. «The day after I went to train, Thierry asked me: ‘Where is your car, son?’ I told him that he was on a higher level than me. During my whole time at Arsenal, I couldn’t even save €100,000, while people thought I should be millionaire», he confesses. And of course, Song also valued his time at Barcelona and the reasons that led him to change the Gunners shirt for the culé: «When Barcelona offered me a contract and I saw how much I would earn, I didn’t think twice. I felt that my wife and children should have comfortable lives once my degree is over. I met the sports director of Barça and he told me that I would not play many games, but I did not care, I knew that now I would become a millionaire. I didn’t give a shit about being a benchwarmers at the Camp Nou for the money he earned,” he said.
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