Ever heard about keeping someone on a leash? Football clubs that have invested millions of dollars on players tend to do it all the time. They need to because these men can go off on a tangent and lose focus on what’s important. They could become liabilities instead. Sometimes clubs tend to tighten the noose, and players tend to dislike it. That’s where contracts come in. However, that’s not the case all the time. Players have equal rights and can make demands of their own.
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In this article, we are going to dive into the world of football contracts. We’re going to take a look at some of the most bizarre demands in the history of football.
Luis Suarez – Keep the vampire in check!
The blood lust that Luis Suarez has seems to peak on matchdays. Especially when he’s hounded by defenders and not allowed the space he wants. That’s when he starts biting people. It was getting too much to bear for LFC, who rightly sold him to Barça. The Catalan club added a ‘No Biting’ clause in his contract, which the Uruguayan didn’t dare to break.
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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Timing is everything
When Arsenal bought the Ox from Southampton, they made sure to introduce a time stipulation in his contract. Wenger probably thought that The Saints were being greedy when they demanded the performance bonus of sorts. The French boss made sure that Alex didn’t get more than 19 minutes in quite a few games.
Mario Balotelli – Behave, bad boy!
Mario Balotelli’s reputation precedes itself. The man needs no introduction. That is why when LFC bought him from Milan after a stellar season in 2014, they inserted the ‘Good Conduct’ clause in his contract. You don’t even have to think twice about how that went.
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Spencer Prior – Who got balls?
Sheep do, and they taste divine, apparently. Spencer Prior learned this hard way after moving to Cardiff City in 2001. Sam Hammam, the Lebanese owner of the club, made sure that his players got to taste a Lebanese delicacy made from the mammal’s testicles. Spencer didn’t even have a say in the matter.
Stefan Schwarz – Space Restricted
Stefan Schwarz found himself on the end of a clause in his contract that prevented him from traveling to outer space. A keen enthusiast, Schwarz was hoping to make it to the very top, but thanks to Sunderland, his hopes were quashed. The fact that they thought commercial space flight was possible at the turn of the millennium is beyond comprehension.
Now that we’ve taken a look at the clauses clubs introduced in players’ contracts let us take a look at the times when the athletes demanded equally bizarre things.
Rolf-Christel Guié-Mien – Guie Mien some Chow Mein
Rolf-Christel Guié-Mien was already married when he moved to Eintracht Frankfurt in 1999. Sadly, the man’s wife wasn’t too good a cook, which is why he wanted the club to arrange cooking classes for her. He made sure to include it in his contract, too. Oh, the bravery of this man!
Samuel Eto’o – Fly me around
When Sam Eto’o moved to Anzhi Makhachkala in 2011, he demanded that he wanted to be flown around in a private jet to Moscow, so he could live there. Dagestan didn’t tickle his fancy, and the club accommodated his request.
Dennis Bergkamp – Don’t fly me. Ever.
You must have heard of Dennis Bergkamp’s fear of flying before. We’ve discussed it here at WTFoot as well. The Dutchman made sure to have a ‘No Flying’ clause in his contract that exempted him from traveling to away games. Arsenal was kind enough to understand his fears.
Ronaldinho – I need party time
The decline for the world’s most beloved footballer began when he joined Flamengo in 2011. The Brazilian club was partly responsible when they accepted his demand of wanting two nights out to party. Ronaldinho also asked that he wanted a house with a pool in it. Flamengo could only take his antics for a season before they had had enough.
Guiseppe Reina – What the house?
Giuseppe Reina thought he was being smart when he demanded that his club, at the time, Arminia Bielefeld, build him a new house every year. Arminia had the last laugh when he didn’t mention more details about this dwelling he wanted. They delivered him Lego houses each year, and there wasn’t a thing the striker could do about it.
We’ve just got the tip of the iceberg in this post. There are a lot more such bizarre demands in football contracts. But that’s for another time.
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