Was anyone in doubt that cash is king in football these days?
If you were, then Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini will surely have cleared up the issue.
He has also shown that club’s priorities are now completely dominant across the game.
His team are to jet off for a tour of the United States at the end of the season.
That means his players won’t arrive back until the day they’re due to meet up with Roy Hodgson’s
England squad for friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil.
According to Mancini, going to New York is like going on holiday.
And who are they playing in the Big Apple and St Louis? None other than Premier League rivals Chelsea!
The issue about players being back for England duty is a bit of a red herring.
They’re only international friendlies and we have too many of them as it is.
But, as usual, Sir Alex Ferguson has hit the nail on the head.
His take is that clubs are putting greed before the good of their players.
He believes players need their rest at the end of the season, and that foreign tours should only be used as pre-season preparation.
I know we regularly criticise players for complaining of tiredness .
But, take it from me, they do need the chance to put their feet up in May.
Over the course of a season, you play with all manner of strains and niggles.
The body can only take so much punishment before it needs the chance to rest and repair.
With every passing year, football gets faster and more dynamic.
Players now have better injury treatment and nutritional advice than they did in my day.
But, ultimately, the human body is no different.
This debate comes at a time when La Liga is set to take over from England as the No 1-rated league for the first time in five years.
Look at the way English clubs ran out of steam and failed to make it into the last eight of the Champions League.
Players are pampered, preened and paid massive amounts, but none of that keeps the energy levels topped up.
Ask fans what they’d prefer from their club easy cash from a post-season tour or money that comes from hard-earned honours?
We all know they want to see the best possible team on the field when silverware is up for grabs.
My message to clubs about summer tours is simple. Give it a rest.
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