Alex Song has opened up on his obsession with money and revealed he 'didn't think twice' about leaving Arsenal for Barcelona once he learnt how much he would be earning at the Camp Nou.
Cameroon midfielder Song made the £15million switch from London to Catalonia in the summer of 2012.
Now the 32-year-old, who was sacked by Swiss club FC Sion in March for refusing to take a pay-cut amid the coronavirus pandemic, has explained how the decision eight years ago was not difficult due to the finances involved.
'I met Barca's sporting director, and he told me I would not get to play many games,' Song said in an Instagram live chat with professional basketball player and compatriot Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors.
'But I didn't give a f***. I knew that now I would become a millionaire. When Barcelona offered me a contract, and I saw how much I would earn, I didn't think twice'
'I always say, a young man of 20 who drives a Ferrari is poor, because at 20 you haven't done anything yet. But a man of 50 who drives in a Bentley, is a man to respect.'
Song, who signed for Arsenal in 2006 and made 215 appearances for the club, has also revealed how he was blown away by Thierry Henry's car when he arrived at training.
'When I arrived at Arsenal... I arrived at training then I saw the king arrived (Thierry Henry) with a car but damn, the car was a jewel and therefore I told myself that I needed the same car whatever the cost,' Song admitted.
'I swear that after two months I had my car returned, all my money was going to fuel and I told them give me a Toyota.
'When I got to training, Titi asked me "but son where is the car" I told him "big this car it's not at my level!"'
Vumcklmru
191
I don't blame him, no matter how much u sacrifice for those clubs they just see u as another commodity and they get rid of u after your usefulness, etc look at Emmanuel Eboue, after he encounter so much difficulty and was onlyooking for some minor job to place food on his table what did arsenal do to help him out, nothing, it was rather another team that came to his rescue, and we all know he give his best when he was with AFC. Take what u can get from these clubs without feeling any form of guilt, a player can never satisfy a team or the fans.
Ezenko1
134
Adebayor said" I didn't come to Europe to make a name but to make money " We are Africans and no matter what we do we can't get a name. Make the money and go back home
SINGAM23
9
Sing a Song for once, and the Biggest music industry comes knocking at your door... nice try Song, for being a member of Barca football club for once