Former Arsenal defensive midfielder, Alex Song has revealed that he decided to join FC Barcelona on August 20, 2012, for €19 million because he wanted to make more money.
The Cameroonian was a prominent football star at Arsenal between 2007 and 2012. After 5 successful seasons at the Premier League club, he moved to Barcelona that had star footballers in every position.
Before he sealed the deal with Barcelona, it was clear to him that he would not play regularly at the Spanish La Liga club. But the football star still made the move.
At the point he made the move, some pundits speculated that he made the move because he wanted to win major titles since Barca was one of the hottest teams in Europe then.
Others believed that Alex Song decided to join FC Barcelona so that he could rub shoulders with football stars like Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, and Lionel Messi.
But in an Instagram chat with Toronto Raptors basketball star Pascal Siakam, Alex Song revealed that his major aim of joining FC Barcelona in 2012 was for the money.
He revealed that when he was at Arsenal, he did not save much even though he was heavily paid at the Premier League club. Hence, he needed to go to a club where he could be paid heavily enough to cover up for all the resources he wasted at Arsenal.
Alex Song 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.
“I wanted to rub shoulders with the big boys. I could shop wherever I wanted and have crazy nights out.”
When he got to FC Barcelona, he met Thierry Henry at the club as one of the club’s big boys. Alex Song was not just thrilled that he was training alongside some of the best players in the world, he was thrilled by the kind of car Henry was coming to training with.
Hence, he did not give a “f***” that he was a bench warmer at FC Barcelona, his target was to have enough money to buy the kind of car Henry used to drive to training then.
“I would go to training and see Thierry Henry – the King – turn up in an absolute gem of a car. I told myself I wanted the same car at all costs”, Song added.
“I went to the dealership, signed the papers, and arranged to pay for it by standing order – and just like that, I had the same car as The King.
“But I swear that I had to hand the car back inside two months. All my money was going on filling it with petrol.
“I told them, ‘Give me a Toyota – this car’s too much for me.”
Alex Song played for FC Barcelona between 2012 and 2016. He was sent on loan to West Ham United twice during that period.
Before he finally left Barcelona for Rubin Kazan in 2016, Alex Song managed to play 65 times in all competitions for Barcelona in which he scored a goal and provided two assists.
He did not just leave FC Barcelona as a millionaire, he left the Spanish La Liga giants as a league winner.
Song is currently playing for AS Arta/Solar7. His contract with the Djibouti Premier League club will expire on June 30, 2022.
