Regular game time at Arsenal wasn’t enough for Alex Song, to warm Barcelona’s bench to become a millionaire. One such player is Alex Song, the experienced footballer, who once represented Arsenal in the midfield and leapt for what was far from the lush green grass of the football field — for the sake of the shine of money. When the chance came for Song to join Barcelona, he readily accepted it even when it came with the likelihood of being a substitute for the club’s protocol-laden roster.
Song started his journey at Arsenal in 2005. A loan signing at just 17 years of age, he firmed his place and became part of the Arsenal legends. With Wenger as their mentor, Song moulded into a perfect DM Shield and produced an excellent performance in 205 matches inclusive of league matches and cup. He was always prominent in Arsenal because he was a no-nonsense player and was a tactician on the field.
Alex Song in Arsenal
The year was 2012 and Barcelona started knocking. What can be vividly identified is the triumvirate of midfielders: Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi. Song knew the score: He would not be playing most games from the start, though. But that did not demoralise him. The prospect of moving to Camp Nou, and the prospect of winning trophies, the money £15 million and an increase from £55,000 a week to £70,000 what was there not to like?
Song even signed a five-year contract with Barcelona, knowing what he was supposed to offer to the team. He was always on the bench, the backup, the cup-ties player, the player who only plays when the team’s main players are resting. But he couldn’t care less about it. His goal was set free, he wanted to see the zeros in his accounts. Footballing glory? That could wait. Becoming a millionaire? This was the game he played.
Today it is a great pleasure to congratulate Song on his 37th birthday, considering his activities diverse. Some admire him for his performances for Arsenal while others for the time for Barcelona. And certainly the most daring, if not manage motivation, was the most practical. He joined today’s team for the money he was promised, discretely. And in the vast stage of football, where dreams are fought against contracts, Song penned down his own drama — an echo of “show me the money”.
I left for Money – Song
He Admitted this in 2020 during his Instagram Live with NBA star Pascal Siakam. He said “When Barcelona offered me a contract, and I saw how much I would earn, I didn’t think twice.
“I felt my wife and children should have comfortable lives once my career is over. I met Barca’s sporting director, and he told me I would not get to play many games, but I didn’t give a f*** – I knew that now I would become a millionaire.”
“Most footballers live beyond their means. I was at Arsenal for eight years but only began to earn a good living in the last four,” .”That was because my salary went up a lot — but also because I came to realise what a waster I was. During my entire time at Arsenal, I couldn’t even save £100,000, while people thought I must be a millionaire.”
However Song had moved back to London after only two seasons in Barcelona and was wearing the West Ham colours. Loan spells became his tender; short impulsive tenures that inclined toward the idea of a nomad. But another country’s cold was where he cools his jets next, sign with Rubin Kazan in 2016 permanently. It was, instead, a footballing map that grew and unveiled new territories.
Switzerland called and Song responded. Swiss side Sion accepted him in, and the Alps observed him in midfield encounters. But the trickster element par excellence of football had not run its course. A place that even purists of the game will take time to frame on a map—Djibouti was his stage. Arta Solar 7, a club situated in Horn of Africa opened their arms to welcome him. Here it was not the lush surfaces, terrific crowds – it was very different to what Claudio had experience.
But in these travels, song’s wallet reveals an unmistakable testimony of profligacy. He desired the same wheels that had been driven by Arsenal’s legend Thierry Henry — the desire for status, the resonance of championship. But reality hit hard.
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