Alex Song didn’t break into Arsenal’s Senior team properly until later in his career but a standout season made him join Barcelona from Arsenal. The Cameroon midfielder has detailed how he was making 15,000 pounds per week and somehow saved nothing.
“I spent eight years at Arsenal, but it wasn’t until my last four that I can say that I started earning a good living, because my salary increased considerably,” Song confirmed in an Instagram video.
“I wasted a lot of money, I was going to expensive dinners, trips and holidays, during those eight years I couldn’t even keep 100,000 pounds in my bank account.
“I thought I was a millionaire but that was not the reality, I was making 15,000 pounds per week.”
During his early career in North London, Song was a teammate of Thierry Henry and freely admits that he overspent on certain things as he felt that’s what he had to do as a footballer.
“I signed my first professional contract and I was so excited, I came to training and saw Henry arrive in his car, which was a gem, and I thought I needed the same car no matter the cost,” Song explained.
“Since I was a footballer, I could just go to the dealership, sign some papers and they would give you the car, that’s how I ended up with the same car as Henry.
“After two months I understood that my money was going to run out and I asked for a Toyota instead.”
Whilst much is spoken about how poor a decision it was for Barcelona to sign Song, the midfielder has confirmed that he wasn’t interested in playing much football at the Camp Nou.
“Barcelona were interested in signing me and their sporting director spoke to me,” Song detailed.
“He told me that I wasn’t going to play much football there.
“I told him that I didn’t care, I knew that now I was really going to be a millionaire