As they said during the Watergate scandal “follow the money.” Or to be more contemporary, as he heard rapped in Hamilton, “follow the money and see where it goes,” and that’s apparently what Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini intends to do this summer.
The polarizing player, looking for a substantial wage hike above his current salary of £120,000 per week, has reportedly turned down two contract extension offers from Old Trafford.
According to the Daily Mail, Fellaini’s time at the Theatre of Dreams: “is close to an end, with sources saying that the Belgian will leave Old Trafford in the summer to ‘follow the money’…Friends of the 30–year-old say he believes he has one final payday in his career and feels that he has never been accepted by both the United board or the club’s supporters.”
The Belgian is certainly right, in a couple regards, there.
Football doesn’t last forever, and given the injury-riddled season Fellaini has had, he definitely knows that very well. Also, being on the wrong side of 30 for an athlete always means keeping one eye on your long term future as there’s usually only one or two big money deals left at that point.
Fellaini is also right about how he’s been perceived by United fans. As the only summer transfer window addition of David Moyes, coming from the same club as the disaster managerial hire, he has always been inextricably linked with the cataclysmic failure that was Sir Alex Ferguson’s hand-picked successor.
Where could Fellaini be headed now?
Well, if it’s money he wants, then China or the United States of America should be at the top of his agent’s list. He’s also been heavily linked in recent transfer windows with moves to clubs in Turkey and Italy.
As he’ll be able to move on a free transfer, don’t rule out a move to a rival English club, or a la Wayne Rooney, a return to Everton. There are plenty of options for Fellaini.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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