More Salary Bullshit

[Ed. Note: Sorry... this post has nothing to do with Arsenal/Liverpool from yesterday. We could easily open up a thread after this just for random griping. You know you want to.]

FutebolFinance.com has been busy of late, releasing all sorts of salary Top 10s from around the world, and this one for highest-paid players worldwide is just fucking hilarious.

Enjoy this top 10, as it teaches you one very important lesson: when you're at the top of your game, sign a massive fucking contract before the downward spiral begins.

Looking at the list: Kaka has had a rough year, Ronaldinho's injured again, Terry's been hurt, Thierry's been hurt, Lampard's been ghostly on the pitch, Ballack's not getting enough starts, Shevchenko.... well let's just move on, and Gerrard's suffered a dip in form and influence this past season.

It's really no coincidence that there are 4 Chelsea players on this list, because let's face it, they're the fucking kings of overpaying for players. They do it every year [I can still hear the laughter as they paid 16 million pounds for Juan Sebastian Veron AFTER he'd already flopped massively in the EPL for Manchester United], and this list has to make tough reading. Look at those awkward contracts you'll be paying for quite some time.

The sting is of course lessened by being just 2 points back from Man U in the two-horse title hunt, but still: if you fall short, look at all that guaranteed money flying out the door. It's a fucking miracle, almost 30 million pounds going into the pockets of 4 players [3 of whom aren't worth a fraction of it], but hey, that's the game nowadays, isn't it?

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A post where I attack Beckham again for no reason

Slow news days are the best, because you get to focus on people and teams that you can't stand, writing all sorts of blithering hate about them.

David Beckham is just one of these people, and although this story isn't really that eye-opening, I couldn't resist.

Despite the average MLS salary rising 12 percent to $129,395, David Beckham still makes 50 times that, and twice as much as the league's next highest player.

Fucking old overrated bastard.

Chicago's Cuauhtemoc Blanco, another fucking old overrated bastard, clocks in at $2.667 million a year, while DC United's Marcelo Gallardo earns a paltry $1.874 million.

From the article:

Forty-six players earn the league minimum of $33,000. Among developmental players, 30 make $17,700 and 43 make $12,900.

The median salary — the point at which an equal amount make above and below — was $61,273 for the 333 players listed. That is up 16 percent from last year's median of $52,965.

And Beckham makes how much? $6.5 fucking million a fucking year? It's a disgrace! He turns 33 in 3 weeks, he's mediocre and ineffectual for the national side, he's unable to corral his fellow mercenaries to win consistently in Los Angeles, and yet he's destroying the delicate balance of the MLS with his ridiculous old contract.

This is why the MLS will never really compete as a world league. The longer that they continue to reach out for aging once-marquee names and tether them to long, expensive contracts, the longer the league will struggle. The MLS is desperate to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other big domestic leagues around the world, and yet it still hasn't found its identity.

At a cursory glance, the MLS is a blend of fresh-out-of-college prospects and 30-something itinerants, most of whom have retired from their national teams.

I desperately want the MLS to work, and I'd love to be corrected if I'm way off base, but articles like this exhibiting the glaring chasm between Beckham's pay check and everyone else's doesn't help matters much.

Beckham, if you want to help the Galaxy, give them some of that money back to use elsewhere. It's not like you need a third pool in your fourth summer home.

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