It is a sad state of affairs what has happened to the game especially in England and I'd also say since the premier league's inception. Sure , money was already corrupting the game (I can still remember well that jaw dropping moment when Napoli paid £4 million for Maradona) but now years later it's not just a sport , same can be said for other sports. It has become an occupation first for many players and a sport second. I also dont blame players for wanting to earn huge amounts of cash. The English premier league however is held up to be the pinnacle of the game worldwide (so the English would have us believe) and its simply not the case. The German Bundesliga has been consistently the most attended division for years. Deludamol it seems is rife down south as well. If it were true that the EPL was the best standard in the world then it would naturally follow that the worlds best players would play there (of course many do) but the very best often dont, the likes of messi, Lewandowski, neymar , you would think these players would be knocking at their agents door for a move to England and yet they are not. The opposite usually occurs, the best often prove themselves in the EPL and move on to Spain, like Ronaldo leaving man utd for real Madrid or Suarez leaving liverpool for Barcelona. The climate of course plays a part as does the character and desires of the individual but only now that messi is edging nearer the later stages of his golden career is he considering a move to England reportedly. Neymar went with the money, Lewandowski for the glory that Bayern could offer. Pogba cant leave quick enough. It is a fantastic league no question about that but in my mind the EPL has failed to deliver its potential on the European stage apart from a few seasons it's never dominated like it did in the 80s. Ok its probably true that no countries league will ever dominate Europe like that again. Liverpool, forest and villa between them something like 8 seasons in a row English European champions pre-heysel . These days European football is the plaything of Arabian princes and playboy born privileged billionaires each trying to out-do the other, €200 million for neymar , €700 million release clause for a 33 year old messi its ridiculous and something has to give. Its obscene, geis oor ba' back the games a hijacked bogey. When Celtic spending £5 million on ajeti, a guy who cant get a game for west ham doesnt raise eyebrows you know somethings not right.
