Is a player ever more important than a club?

The usual gossip appeared in the English Sunday newspapers this week and two perennial stories surfaced again.

Package

The News of the World reported that Real Madrid are putting together a £100million package to sign Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

The same newspaper revealed that Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has cast doubt on his future with the Gunners by refusing to rule out a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid. This story was backed up by a report in the Sunday Express which said that the Gunners are reportedly ready to let Fabregas leave as there is growing belief within the club that the Spaniard has started to think he is more important than the club.

Devastated

These two stories got me thinking. I am not totally sure that United fans will be devastated if Ronaldo leaves and Arsenal fans will be devastated if Fabregas leaves. Of course they are two of the greatest players in the world, but it is the clubs the fans support and not the players who currently represent them.

United and Arsenal fans will still be there week and week out, long after Ronaldo and Fabregas have moved on, whenever that may be.

Survive

Would United survive without Cristiano Ronaldo? The answer to that question is obviously yes. OK, last season his brilliance and his goals were a crucial element of the team’s success but this season that hasn’t always been the case. A side that could put out Berbatov, Rooney, Tevez, Giggs and Scholes is not short of creativity or goals. Is there an argument that the team may be slightly better off without a player who is clearly a marked man and perhaps has started to believe his own publicity?

What about Arsenal? Could they survive without Fabregas? Well, for a while after his injury the answer did appear to be no. However, recent form has seen them enter the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the semi-finals of the FA Cup and regain their place in the top four of English football. All that has been achieved without the Spanish maestro. I am aware that the subject of whether Fabregas will stay at Arsenal or not is always brought up by the media rather than the player himself, but he does seem to be unhealthily interested in his next move rather than his current position.

Bigger

My argument is that the club is always bigger than any one player. No matter how important a player may think he is, the club and the team will always survive without them. Arsenal fans worried when Tony Adams retired and Patrick Vierra, Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp or Thierry Henry moved on. Manchester United fans would have wondered if they could survive the loss of Beckham, Stam, Van Nistelrooy and others.

Of course, both clubs survived and grew after these players left, just as they will do when Ronaldo and Fabregas move on.

Belittle

I am in no way trying to belittle the achievements or the ability of these two players. I have nothing but admiration for both of them on the field of play. My concern is that they get so much adulation and hear themselves being described as ‘the best’ and ‘indispensable’ and they start to believe it. As soon as any player begins to think they are irreplaceable, it is time for them to move on.

With the track records of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, I would be very surprised if either of them fought too hard to keep either player if they really have started to believe their own publicity.

Emphatic

Another point struck me whilst I was thinking about this. Could Liverpool survive if Steven Gerrard moved on? Of course it would be a major blow to the club and their fans, but again, the answer is an emphatic yes. Liverpool FC were there a long time before Stevie G and they will be there for a long time afterwards.

However important an individual seems to be to a team, they are never more important than the club. When one star leaves another one is born. The king is dead, long live the king.