It feels like every season we have a saga about a player leaving, sometimes we even have multiple like this year where we started the season with Danny Rose and we appear to be going to end it with Toby Alderweireld.
The situation is simple really, Toby is on circa £50,000 a week and wants to earn more than double that. The club however have a wage structure in place where giving him that pay rise would make him the highest paid player at the club; above Kane.
As always I will try and see all sides where possible, so here we go.
The Player.
Toby Alderweireld turns 29 on the 2nd March 2018 and so this next contract is likely to be his last “big” one in football and as such his agents will be looking to maximise it. Toby also is aware that he is one of the top performing central defenders in the top European leagues and arguably the very best in England.
The player and his people were close to an agreement however following the move of VVD to Liverpool, where he is being paid circa £180,000 a week the player has realised his “worth” is far higher than just doubling his current wages.
The Club.
The club currently pay circa 50% of their total revenue on wages for their players, which is in inline with some of the top clubs in the world however the club are massively behind them when it comes to what that revenue is. Sadly that means the club has a very strict wage policy.
The club, unlike others that have been financially doped, is building slowly and is playing catch up with the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and local rivals Arsenal. With the new stadium being built and two seasons of Champions League football (with a real chance of making it three) the revenue for the club is increasing however not fast enough to keep pace with our rivals, not right no anyway.
My thinking….
Toby is turning 29 and has had two very serious injuries in his last two seasons. He deserves a pay rise for his performances and the club are willing to more than double his existing money so, for me, if he is rejecting that than we part ways.
Yes, I get the accusation of the club being a selling club and I can hear the “pay him what he wants now” … hell I want trophies and I think our chances of getting that increase with him BUT I also understand the club is most important and we have our structure for a reason.
-SJ
