The footballing world has been shocked by the number of players moving to China, a nation that is known more for its population and manufacturing industry than its expertise in the world of football. In fact, the past 12 months has seen the likes of Ramires, Oscar and Jackson Martinez have all moved to the Chinese Super League for a combined total of £150million.

I too was quite taken aback by these developments. Why would players almost at the peak of their careers, in the top footballing leagues in the world, choose to play in the Chinese Super League? I then came across another fact. The fact that some of these superstars were being paid over £350,000 a week. It all seemed to make sense after that.

In this week’s Organisational Behaviour class, we learned about the different types of motivators- extrinsic and intrinsic. The players mentioned above seem to be motivated by extrinsic or financial rewards.

It saddens me to see that the ‘beautiful game,’ as it’s known, has come to this stage. The fact that football players no longer view success in terms of playing for bigger clubs, in bigger leagues or alongside other world-class players. Success is now viewed in terms of who has the best cars, how many zeros are in their bank account, and who has the hottest wife. It is shameful to see that this is what the game has now come to.

In an office or work environment, extrinsic motivators are normal. It is, after all, only human to want more money to improve your standard of living, and some may argue that it’s the same case when it comes to football. But when you consider that players already earn more than is required to live a comfortable life, you start to question whether this is actually the case.

Oscar, at Chelsea, had a salary of £150,000 a week. For any ‘9 to 5’ employee at an accounting firm, that is a dream salary. So why is it not enough for a footballer? Why is it that money plays such a large role in their future prospects? Why be a big fish in a small pond today than be a legend sometime in the future?

The simple answer is that extrinsic rewards aren’t really at play here. It’s just greed.

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1. “Why are so many good footballers moving to China?” The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2017.