He was a first-team regular at Arsenal. He played with the likes of Thierry Henry, Sol Campbell, Dennis Bergkamp, Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin, and Tomas Rosicky, he claims he is ‘a Gooner for life’, but his actions speak differently. When Alex Song got the offer from Barcelona in 2012, he looked at his future wage and decided to change ship immediately, even though he was told by his new employers that he wouldn’t get much playing time. Alex Song talks on Arsenal, Barcelona struggles and why he joined Djibouti sideSpeaking in an Instagram chat with Toronto Raptors basketball star Pascal Siakam, Song was brutally honest. „When Barcelona offered me a contract, and I saw how much I would earn, I didn’t think twice. I felt my wife and children should have comfortable lives once my career is over. I met Barca’s sporting director, and he told me I would not get to play many games, but I didn’t give a f**k – I knew that now I would become a millionaire. I wanted to rub shoulders with the big boys. I could shop wherever I wanted and have crazy nights out“ recalls Song. ‘Quality, ability, talent, spirit, commitment. I’m not arrogant but I think we simply had everything!’But, even with all that money, he couldn’t afford one thing – the same car as his teammate and idol Thierry Henry. „I would go to training and see Thierry Henry – the King – turn up in an absolute gem of a car. I told myself I wanted the same car at all costs. I went to the dealership, signed the papers and arranged to pay for it by standing order – and just like that I had the same car as The King. But I swear that I had to hand the car back inside two months. All my money was going on filling it with petrol. I told them: ’Give me a Toyota – this car’s too much for me’“ explained Song.Willian admits he wanted to quit Arsenal after only three monthsBut the fairytale didn’t last for long, as he was loaned out to West Ham twice before being cut by Barcelona. He went on to do some other mercenary contract with Rubin Kazan (contract terminated due to Rubin’s inability to pay their players’ wages) and Sion (sacked after they refused to take a pay-cut due to Covid pandemic). He finally signed for Djiboutian club Arta/Solar7 in 2020, while looking to invest more in his native country Cameroon through a construction company.
