Has Berba taken player power too far?

This summer may well be remembered as a watershed moment in modern football when the rise of player power reached new heights.

Dimitar Berbatov’s inevitable move to Manchester United is just the latest example of a player forcing a move away from his club against the wishes of his employers.

It may seem fair enough in the world outside football - if, god forbid, I was unhappy at my job, I should feel free to sound out other employers and seek a move away whether my editor was happy about it or not.

It’s about career choices, freedom of movement and basic employment rights.

But it is simply wrong to translate this same model into the world of football where millions of pounds are paid to secure a player’s services.

Clubs take huge risks on players with astronomical investments (Berbatov, it is hard to believe now, raised a few eyebrows when he signed from Bayer Leverkusen for over £10 million) to buy players that will bring success and attract fans.

Yes, players like Berbatov or Cristiano Ronaldo may have a sell on value but the fact is the clubs don’t want to sell them.

It is ironic how Real Madrid’s courtship of Ronaldo that so angered United has almost been replicated in the European Champions’ attitude towards Spurs and Berbatov.

I know players must have ambition but they also need to show a degree of loyalty and discuss with their employers when the time is right to move on, especially as they could be left with precious little time to find a replacement even with all the millions they will receive.

In both Ronaldo and Berbatov’s cases their parent clubs have as good as admitted they would reluctantly sell at the right price next summer, giving them a whole year to sound out potential replacements.

Is Berbatov really that unhappy living in London and earning tens of thousands a week playing football that he can’t wait one year out of courtesy to the club that gambled on him and introduced him to English football?

There is one school of thought that believes there is no point keeping someone at a club if they are unhappy, but I have heard more and more people (obviously not financially minded)
suggesting Spurs stick the Bulgarian in the reserves for a few months and watch him suffer.

It may not help the Spurs bank balance, or the team and it certainly won’t enhance Berbatov’s career – but it might send out an important message to all those other inflated egos out there on the limits of player power.