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The Fascinating Contrast In Savage & Scholes' Views On Player Loyalty

Mikey Traynor
By Mikey Traynor
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Either side of Chelsea comprehensive 3-0 win over Leicester, a very interesting discussion took place in the BT Sport studio surrounding the news that has dominated the headlines regarding Dimitri Payet and Diego Costa.

With both men embroiled in difficult situations at their club, although we are still waiting to see exactly what is up with Costa, the question of player loyalty was posed to both Robbie Savage and Paul Scholes.

There were no better men to discuss the topic, as in Paul Scholes you've got a man who spent his entire career with one club, and rejected offers from big teams to earn more money, whereas in Robbie Savage you've got someone who put themselves in the same position that Payet is now in.

Savage spoke with blunt honesty about his departure from Birmingham to Blackburn, as he listed the tactics he used in order to force through the move that he wanted. And to be fair to him, while the club's fans were disgusted with his actions, his reasoning is understandable if clearly selfish.

He even went as far as to admit "I was a disgrace", but you get the feeling that he would have done it all again.

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After the game, Scholes was then quizzed as to what kept him at Manchester United, where he stated that winning trophies while playing at a club 20 minutes from his home meant that money never even entered his mind.

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And you'd believe him too.

While many fans reacted angrily to the blasé manner in which Savage discussed dicking Birmingham around, his situation was entirely different to that of someone like Paul Scholes.

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Scholes stayed his entire career at Manchester United, because the club badly wanted him to. Then when other clubs came sniffing, he knew that he could achieve what he wanted where he already was. Someone like Robbie Savage would never have had that comfort and security, so he took the decision that was best for him and his family.

While it's never good to see a player go on strike, to expect loyalty from someone with no natural affinity to the club is naive with the way football has been going over the past two decades.

Having both perspectives on hand to discuss what the Payet/Costa news from personal experience was a smart move from BT Sport, and it made for a fascinating watch.

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