By Igor Brisa

Three claims. Three verdicts. And one answer that most fans have never heard.

Round 1: “Pro players are forbidden from eating anything fun.”

FACT. At least once, at Arsenal.

When Arsène Wenger arrived in 1996, he banned chocolate immediately. The players did not take it quietly. Wenger remembers them chanting “We want our Mars bars!” at the back of the bus on the way to Blackburn. Egg and chips came off the menu too, replaced by boiled chicken, pasta, raw vegetables and fish.

But here is the twist. Tony Adams later admitted that he was still buying battered cod and a chip sandwich every Friday.

Round 2: “Clubs secretly fine players for tiny things.”

FACT. And the numbers are painful.

Watford captain Troy Deeney revealed in 2018 that players were fined £100 for every minute they were late to training. The manager at the time said the players themselves choose what happens with the money, and charity is one of the options.

Then there was the list reported as leaked from Chelsea in 2019, showing £20,000 for being late to the start of training and £1,000 if your phone rings during a team meal or meeting. The club never confirmed it, but it went around the world in a day.

Round 3: “A player’s transfer fee is his money.”

MYTH. The fee is a payment between clubs, not a check to the player. His pay comes from his contract.

So where does all that money go? Here is the part only insiders know.

The bonus answer

Some of it can land in the account of a boys club you have never heard of.

When a player moves before his contract ends and a transfer fee is paid, the clubs that trained him between his 12th and 23rd birthdays share 5% of that fee. This applies when the move is between clubs in different national associations. The clubs can be amateur or professional.

When goalkeeper Fraser Forster moved from Newcastle United to Celtic in 2012, Wallsend Boys Club claimed a share for helping develop him as a kid. The club said it would use the money to help more children play football.

So the next time you see a record transfer fee on the news, think about the small local club where a 12 year old first learned to control the ball. It might be getting a piece of that headline number.

Which myth should we break next?

Sources:
Wenger, chocolate ban and the Mars bars chant: https://english.aawsat.com/node/2612666
Arsenal menu changes: https://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/signs-arsenal-players-chew-wenger-english-football-health/blt29aa76d594763651
Tony Adams and the battered cod: https://newstatesman.com/?p=109517
Watford fines: https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/premier-league/2018-2019/watford-boss-gracia-dismisses-talk-of-manchester-united-crisis_sto6930351/story.shtml
Chelsea list: https://gulfnews.com/sport/football/20000-pounds-fine-for-turning-up-late-at-chelsea-1.67798113
Solidarity payments and Fraser Forster: https://www.muckle-llp.com/insights/legal-commentary/solidarity-contributions-could-your-club-be-entitled-to-claim/

#Soccer #FactOrMyth #Transfers #Wenger #FootballFacts