He earns about 240 thousand US dollars a week but Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is feeling hard done by. The Manchester United Player says he completely agrees with the Presdient of FIFA, Sepp Blatter who has described footbal’s transfer and contract system as modern slavery. Poor Cristiano? Or get a grip?
25 Responses to “I’m Spartacus: Is Cristiano Ronaldo a modern day slave?”
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Get a grip! If he doesn’t like the life he’s living, the answer is very simple: quit. Slaves can’t quite, but somebody who makes nearly 1 million dollars A MONTH can retire anytime, and there a almost as many local football clubs out there as there are stars in the sky, so it’s not like he could never kick a ball again. Hi signed a contract and should stick to it now, every contract runs out eventually.
Sepp Blatter really should put his brain in gear before opening his mouth. As he is President of FIFA ( and I understand an honorary director or something of Real Madrid (ha!) ) this is especially important
a modern and highly paid slave indeed.just imagine that he cant even use an ARSENAL FC t-shirt as a sleeping vest lest he be seen and AIG stop sponsoring his team….even if that arsenal vest is the only one remaining on earth.
vihiga/kenya.
He would have a point if he didn’t agree to the contract, or signed it under duress. I don’t think getting millions per year would be considered “duress” though. Also, if the legal system of europe is anything like the US, you cannot be “forced” to play under a contract. You would have to pay damages to the team, but they cannot force you to work, like one would a slave. However, the team could prevent you from working for another team though. You cannot get specific performance for a employment contract, but they can prevent you from working for someone else in the same field. However if he wanted to become an accountant, they couldn’t stop him from doing that.
Get a grip.
While I don’t loose sleep over thier wages, why do football clubs have the ability to lock in players control who they work for.
I have the right to wake up one day, hand in my notice and go and work for a competing company if I so choose. Why don’t footballers have this right? Why should it be up to a club to when a player can change thier workplace.
@ Robert
It depends if you have a contract, even if it’s “at will” employment, especially in technical fields, you will have signed a non competition agreement, which restricts your ability to work for a competitor for a period of time in a limited geographical area. They don’tn want you giving the company secrets away to the competition. your old employer can can an injunction to prevent you from working for the competitor.
@Steve
I thought the rules were that you are allowed to work for competitors but you can’t disclose confidential information.
Maybe its different rules in different countries?
well sepp blatter has urged Man United to stop treating him like a slave!
but what does that mean????he gets paid 240 thousand USD for tHAT.C’mon guys its his job-be realistic!
in most part of asia most of the football players are paid poorly and they still cannot complain but this young lad(Ronaldo) who gets:soo much money,front cover of every sports magazine and the life of a prince.whatelse do you want.
i dont think we should make such a fuss about it just because he is confused whether to go to his boyhood favourate club-Real Madrid:)
@ Robert, how would they know if you are disclosing confidential information? Do you have to wear a wire for your former employer to hear? That’s why they can have noncompetition agreements to prevent you from working for a competitor since they have no way of knowing whether or not you disclosed confidential information until you see the fruits of it and it’s too late.
Get a grip! for God’s sake, if that was slavery, I would be one too! all the glamour, money, fame, travelling! please! if slaves had that kind of money it would have been the best career, let’s respect those who were unfortunate to face slavery.
@ mark
yes, it must be horrible having women throw themselves at you. I will lose sleep over Ronaldo tonight, and his plight. Poor him, let’s all pray for him to be released from the bondage of being rich, and having women throw themselves at him.
i guess he could go clean tiolets if he wanted. but seriously, he signed a contract. nobody put a gun to his head and forced him to sign. what would the world be like if there were no contractural obligations?
Immediately you put pen to a paper called Contract and sign on those dotted lines, you automatically have become a slave. Ronaldo is a prisoner to the massive wage he receives. My God, these boys earn a week more than what I can every dream of earning in five years! I feel jealous!
Professional sports, especially those that involve body contact, remind me of the gladiator system whereby the public was treated to bloody spectacles for their entertainment. Everyone has heard of Spartacus, the slave gladiator who led a serious revolt against Rome.
Modern sports is not the same as that kind of slavery.
Nevertheless, I always cringe when I hear of buying and selling athletes.
A “Slave ” earning $240,000.00 per week? I’m sure that one kind of slave many people would want to become. He willingly signed a contract with the advise of FIFA licensed agent, A “slave ” won the English Premier league, the UEFA champions league and every individual football award in england and is undoubtedly the next world footballer of the year. It’s obvious that Sepp Blatter has more than a passing interest in this matter, the use of the word ” modern day slavery is an insult to the sensibilities of objective football lovers world wide”. Contracts are made to be respected.
A Manchester United statement said “All our players enter into their contracts after an open and free negotiation. And the statement continued: “Most of whom do after taking advice from a Fifa-registered agent. Many do so on a number of occasions and enjoy long and successful stays at Old Trafford”
case closed
I’m a life long fan of manchester united and personally I am sick and tired of one player holding the club to ransom. If he wants to go let him get out. There are other great players in the world.
Gamblers make more money betting on football than Ronaldo is likely to make in several lifetimes of playing it.
Footballers are slaves. They may be paid lots of money, but once you have bought everything you ever wanted, what else is there. People should not feel jelous of footballers, they are really unhappy people. Once they get old, they are tossed aside like an old newspaper. People are also slaves. http://WWW.infowars.com
football is a game
and deals with choice so let Manchester let Ronaldo choose where he likes to be
I am a Manchester United fan – I went to Old Trafford for the first time when I was 7 years old, 39 years ago!
I love the club – I do like that Ronaldo has improved so much while being at Utd that he now regarded as one of the greatest players on Earth today.
Bosman made the world of European football the mess it is – this is why you have such long contracts. You become a free agent once your contract has expired and can go to another club for free – Ronaldo signed a contract and should stick by it – but we all know he won’t – he will go to Real, I would likle the price tag to be 100M Euro’s though – Real should know that they have to pay for quality like him.
Ronaldo doesn’t want to be at Man Utd – Beckham faced the same ironic situation, he thought that he was bigger than the club. Gone.
What I would like to see from here on in is players on a one year rolling contract at a maximum of 12000 dollars a week. Cap the wage of those players and see where their loyalty really is.
Ronaldo has no defence – he could take it to court, and I wish he would to be honest. He would lose and Sepp Blatter, hopefully, will be sacked as head of FIFA. He causes so many problems I can’t see why he is still in football.
No, it isn’t slavery and is an insult to those who suffered and are suffering that situation today and in the past.
I do love having Ronaldo at Old Trafford – but with comments like that I think the club should sell him. Or better still – sit him in the stands for a season and then sell him to West Ham!
C. Ronaldo is not a slave in any sense. I think the point Blatter is putting through is that players should be given the freedom to move to a club which they want to play for. That said, I’m one fan of Real Madrid who wouldn’t want to see Ronaldo playing at the team. In any case I’ll like to be a slave who is said millions of dollars per annual.
In my opinion I think sepp blatter is right because everyone else is a slave. Going back to employer-employee relationship, when an individual write a letter to an organisation wanting to work in that organisation and giving that opportunity he authormatically bscome a slave to that organisation or employer if you like. This is so because that individual has the mandate to go to work and do other things as stated in the appointment letter given to him or her.In a nut shell everybody has a mandate in his or her work place which make him or her a slave to the employer.
maybe a year in the reserves for tranmere rovers would do him good.
the guy is an idiot, great footballer but………
he makes more than twice as much as i do and i am actually happy with my income. some of these fools have lost all connection to reality.
As the song goes ‘ money is the root of all evil I say:take it away take it away take it away’ (but leave some for me ;-))
What type of football do you yourself play?
Can I ask though – how did you get this picked up and into google news?
Very impressive that this blog is syndicated through Google and is it something that is just up to Google or you actively created?
Obviously this is a popular blog with great data so well done on your seo success..
Soccer / Football greats you should write about next!