Are players like Anelka admitting they are finished by moving to China?

I have to admit I was a bit surprised when I first heard that Nicolas Anelka was being linked with a move to China with Shanghai Shenhua.

The Chinese club has now agreed a deal a two-year deal with the French striker and he will join up with them in January.

Ambitious

Shenhua are ambitious and are now looking at signing Anelka’s Chelsea teammate Didier Drogba.

However they are going to find it hard to attract players to move to the far east because of the standard of league.

According to reports though they are able to offer fantastic financial terms to players who move to the club. That usually makes players forget about the standard of league or differences in culture.

Decent

I still think Nicolas Anelka is a decent player and could still do a job in any of Europe’s top flights. I’m sure he doesn’t need a huge pay-packet to play the game. Its like he is sacrificing what’s left of his career in search of money.

I’m not saying that the Frenchman shouldn’t get the best possible deal for himself, I’m saying he could have waited a few more years to make such a move.

Drogba

The Shenhua are now targeting Drogba and that would be an even bigger coup for them. Drogba still has a lot to offer and Chelsea are still unsure whether they are going to offer him a contract extension. Drogba’s contract runs out next summer and he is reportedly looking for a two year deal.

However Chelsea only want to give him a new one year deal. Drogba’s representatives have already stated that the Ivory Coast striker will now go wherever pays the most money. That is quite a brutal assessment of the strikers situation.

Drogba is still very much in the Blues first team. He has been competing with Fernando Torres for the lone striker berth at the Bridge. He may be 33 years of age but he could easily play another year or two at the top level.

Careers

I know players play the game to get paid but they must have some sort of professional pride. They must still want to play where they will be recognised and not just disappear into the sun for one last big pay cheque.

I can understand players wanting to carry on playing. However these two players are in their early thirties and they aren’t exactly decrepit yet. They won’t need their walking sticks or Zimmer frames for a while anyway.

When players move to leagues like the Chinese or the Qatari leagues they are sending out signals that their careers are finished. It’s almost an admission that they are not good enough for European football anymore.

Good

The likes of Anelka moving to China will definitely raise the profile of the game in the country and will help the popularity grow. It will definitely be good for the game in the far east. It’s a similar sort of thing to how the MLS are trying to do it.

However football in the USA is a lot further along the line development wise then China. If Didier Drogba does end up in China that would be bring even bigger attention to Shenhua and football in the country.

Sad

I think its sad that once footballers get into their thirties people write them off and they are reduced to joining clubs in developing football nations. However that’s the nature of football these days and I suppose older players have to accept the fact or retire from the game completely.

Should Nicolas Anelka have stayed in European football?