Job loyalty versus player transfers

Recently, rumours have been floating around in our community stating that a certain player was leaving my favourite team for another club. It is rumoured that his transfer to another big club will entail an incredibly large sum of money and more prestige. I could not believe it. The shock took two days to settle in. I felt like a knife was stuck in my back. How could the player be so selfish and where is his loyalty? He didn’t even give the fans a chance to prepare mentally.

Our club gave him everything, put him on a pedestal and made him get noticed. In fact, the player rarely got time on the pitch in the previous club and we put him on the map. The player became one of the top players in the region and even won a few trophies with the national team.

The shock of the player’s potential transfer weighed heavily on my mind the next day at work. However, as I began to look for answers, I had a thought. It was as if I was in a cartoon and a light bulb appeared atop my heavy head. I wondered what if I was in the player’s shoes? What if I had been offered a job with much better pay and working conditions, would I go?

I probably would resign without giving it much thought and brush off anyone who tried to talk me out of it by citing company loyalty. I would hand in my resignation like that teacher who smirks when they hand out test papers. But alas, I know that being offered more than Dh40 million dirhams to stay with an organization is way beyond wishful thinking.

I know what it means to be frustrated in a job, to be stuck between deadlines and unjustly thrown off the corporate ladder. I think we need to remember that the pitch, though not the typical nine to five, is the day job of our footballers. They have deadlines and are expected to be at their best 100 per cent of the time.

We need to keep in mind that just as we need to always keep our options open on the job market, players also have that right to look for better opportunities. It is not about loyalty, it is about what is best for the individual.

This is assuming that the player does transfer to another club. With that in mind, I wish the player all the success and luck in wherever he decides to go.

- Afra Atiq is an Emirati event coordinator based in Dubai