[quote author=kingjulian link=topic=41756.msg1170185#msg1170185 date=1283712282]
[quote author=peterhague link=topic=41756.msg1170175#msg1170175 date=1283711490]
it's crazy to suggest that masch did us a favour by staying last year, and comparing his situation to a normal working environment is completely pointless.
the fact is, liverpool did not want to sell him, and didn't have to, so therefore any decision to allow him to go is actually a 'favour' on the club's part. i don't know how anyone can think otherwise.
player's need to realise what their responsibilities are when they sign up for the obscne rewards detailed in their contracts.
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So you think it is alright to keep a person playing for a club against his wish because he makes 40,000 pounds a week as opposed to 1000/2000 pounds a week the average employee out there makes?
So Contract law has distinctions based on the face value of contract? Beyond what is reasonable the player can move to file a case, and everybody will end up losing in that scenario. That is the reason clubs usually agree to do a deal. Give me one example of a player who has wanted to move away from a club year after year but has been forced to serve out his contract. I will concede this point to you....
Majority of the time, when players want to leave a club for personal reason they leave, and in exceptional cases some players wait out a year or a bit more...and that is mostly out of respect to the club and fans...see Barry the year before last.
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Presumably Mascherano or any other player stuck in a contract they don't like can apply to serve out a notice period like the average oerson does, the length of which depends on the length of service laid down in statute.
However the club can still hold onto the player registration for the duration of the contract, meaning he can go and get a normal job in whatever country he wants but won't be able to play football for anyone else.
Football players are completely different to your average employee because of the player registrations, not the amount of money involved in the contract.