Wally with a Brolly

 Winston Bogarde

Haaa Winston Bogarde. We all remember you. You were the guy who took the money and did not walk away. No matter that you played for a great Ajax side, for Barcelona or for Holland (including as a starter at Euro 96). You'll always be remembered for the fact you took the money.

But at least, what I like with Winston, to a certain extent, is that he assumed his lust for money. He never shied away from the name-calling and the callous reputation he has forever earned. He was what he was, and he never portrayed himself as anything other than an end-of-career player who just wanted the money. I'm not sure he deserves any respect for that, but at least he had the balls and honesty to be open about it. 

Now let me set the record straight. I understand when players want to leave for the money. If you're offered to double or triple or quintuple your wages, you'd think about it. And, considering professional football does have a short career span with no preparation for life after the game, it's quite understandable that you'd forget your sense of loyalty for a club with the big bucks. We're all human after all. 

Winston understood that. He was coming to the end of his career, and he was earning £40,000 a week. By the way, £40k a week is now probably the average wage of a youth team player at Man City. Just saying.

So Winston knew he'd made it. It wasn't his fault someone at Chelsea had handed him such a contract. I'm pretty confident in assuming he'd never made that kind of money before, not at Ajax and probably not at AC Milan or Barcelona. So Winston saw his chance, knew he'd have to give up at least 75% of his wages if he moved, and knew he was at the tail end of his career. Understandable when you consider this was the pinnacle of his earning. Understandable, but not condoned.

Fast forward more than 10 years, and the explosion in wages. Now people like Stephen Ireland are making £60k a week. And, from the look of it, Winston made a better choice in terms of car. But I digress. With the money available in football, it's relatively safe for big name players to earn lucrative moves, even if they're moving from a massive club to a smaller one towards the end of their career.

And people now know that players move for the money. There isn't so much shame in that anymore.

Which is why I'm angry at Florent Malouda.

I used to like Florent. He was a hugely influential player for France at the World Cup 2006, partnering Abidal on the left hand side and scaring the s**t out of defenders with his direct running, pace and trickery. He'd made his way out of Guingamp to Lyon, and he was heading for the top.

I remember when he joined Chelsea in 2007. I told my friend Cam (Chelsea fan, but not scum) that he'd love Malouda and that he'd become an important player for the side, especially considering he was Drogba's best mate from their time at Guingamp. And, after a slightly subdued first season, Malouda did become a vital player for Chelsea, especially under Carlo Ancelotti when he scored 25 goals in two seasons, which isn't too shabby for a winger.

As he turned 30, and with his influence waning, Malouda was making the right noises about wanting to stay at Chelsea until 2014 at least, especially with regards to his international career and the perspective of playing for France at the World Cup.

But then Juan Manuel Mata came, and Malouda was redundant. His performances were poor, a sad reminder that he used to be a very good player but simply wasn't anymore. As a sign that he had lost his touch, he was played out in central midfield. And it cost France dearly at Euro 2012 as he failed to track Xabi Alonso in the quarter-final against Spain. He had become lazy, complacent and arrogant, with a high opinion of himself which bordered on the ridiculous.

His return to Chelsea in the summer of 2012 was clearly not meant to last. Rumours of discontent at his reduced role had been circulating for months, and it was obvious Florent would leave. He was meant to want regular game time to keep his place for France, and he was surplus to requirements at Chelsea. 

It was also clear that Chelsea wouldn't ask for a hefty transfer fee. Malouda was one year away from the end of his contract and was over 30. It made no sense arguing for a fee. Chelsea just wanted to get his £80k a week off the books.

And yet, nothing happened. Oh sure there was talk of Malouda leaving for Brazil, where legend Clarence Seedorf had already landed, simply for the pleasures of experiencing samba football. 

But £80k a week was £80k a week, decided Florent. It doesn't matter that he was being offered relatively long-term contracts in Brazil. Money was money.

Clarence: what Malouda could have been. Memo to Florent: you think Clarence is badly paid?

And, compared to Winston, this pissed me off. Here was Malouda, still only recently turned 32, not wanting to leave Chelsea because of his wages. Which would have been sort of fine, Bogardesque even, if he hadn't repeatedly tried to deny all this. What is not fine, however, is the fact he's haggling over wages when he'd still get paid handsomely and has been living on an £80k a week contract for the last 5 years (not counting bonuses).

But no, Florent wanted to paint himself as a victim. First came the whiny tweet on the 5th September where he complained about being sent to the U-21 for his last season. Then the numerous interviews in French sports papers about how he was being badly treated with a lack of respect by Chelsea, despite 5 great years there. Even though he'd told the club he wanted to leave in 2012.

Always denying the money link. But you can't deny it anymore Florent. Not when you've had 6 months and the January transfer window to prepare to leave. You could have set yourself up with a good contract. But no. Greed overtook you.

Winston Bogarde was a laughing-stock. You're much more than that Florent. By painting yourself as a victim, something which Winston never did, you're losing any credibility you might have had. And, sadly, you're losing all the respect you might have earned as a top-class player.

Ironically for Florent, he's probably priced himself out of a decent move. While he would have still made something north of the £50k a week mark (more than Bogarde) if he'd left in 2012, fresh off playing for France at Euro 2012, he is now viewed with suspicion after deciding to take the money instead. He'll turn 33 next summer, and who'll want to take such a chance with an old player who hasn't played for a year? Who'll want to offer him what he wanted in 2012?

So, unlike Winston, Florent will have paid dearly for his lack of honesty. I can't say I'm full of empathy.