Sevilla manager Jorge Sampaoli has criticised clubs for treating players as commodities, referring in part to Tottenham’s treatment of Bryan Gil.
Two and a half years after Spurs paid £25m plus Erik Lamela (Goal) to sign Gil from Sevilla, the North London club loaned the youngster back to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium until the end of the season.
(Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)
The 21-year-old revealed after sealing the move that he was desperate to return to the club as soon as he heard of Sevilla’s interest and admitted that he had failed to sufficiently adapt to the Premier League since his switch to England (Football.London).
The Spain international will be hoping to get regular game time under his belt over the next few months and get his career back on track.
Sampoli has now accused Spurs of not being sensitive to Gil’s well-being and insisted that the winger is now finally back at a place where he can be happy.
The Sevilla boss told Mundo Deportivo: “The issue about the transfer window is a very special one that is hard for me to talk about, because when I get to a locker room, I see human beings and the market uses players as a product. Players in these market times are treated like tins of tomatoes.
“Sometimes, huge sums are handled and after six months, they are loaned out for nothing. As examples, I would give Ocampos and Bryan Gil, who returned to a place to be happy.
“Players are run by people who want to profit. The only thing left for the footballer is to try to be happy playing football and they are taking it away from him all the time because they are treated like a product.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I understand where Sampoli is coming from as the commodification of players can sometimes make people forget that these are human beings as well. That is why I am uncomfortable with words such as ‘deadwood’ that are frequently thrown around to refer to players.
However, having said that, it is as a consequence of increasing privatisation and investment into football that players are compensated handsomely and are able to build their own personal brands. So, it is a trade-off that many footballers are likely happy with.
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