MusaTalkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has suggested that there was an element of “hypocrisy” in the manner in which Jobe Bellingham sealed his transfer from Sunderland to Borussia Dortmund last week.
The teenage midfielder completed a move to the Bundesliga giants in a deal worth an initial £27 million, with a further £4.2 million included in potential add-ons. Bellingham’s exit came a little over a fortnight after the Black Cats earned promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
And in a recent appearance on talkSPORT, Jordan admitted that he was left unimpressed by the way that the England youth international pivoted swiftly from the jubilation of that victory over Sheffield United to leaving Wearside.
What has Simon Jordan said about Jobe Bellingham’s Sunderland exit?
When asked whether Bellingham’s sale represented good business for Sunderland, Jordan said: “I imagine there’s swings and roundabouts for it. I mean, £30 million for a footballer in this day and age isn’t huge numbers, is it? It’s a loss for Sunderland because obviously, you know, whilst I don’t think he is quite his brother, he was very influential in that Sunderland side. He didn’t get the PFA Young Player of the Season award and wouldn’t be part of that team [of the year] for the Championship for no reason.
“I would imagine there’s an opportunity for both to look at it through a certain prism. Sunderland will have lost a player who was instrumental in them getting promoted. They would have achieved £30 million. It’s how they deploy that £30 million, which would end up answering the question of who’s getting the better side of the equation. If he’s a loss to them, then the £30 million they got from this will be caveated by potential relegation – not that he’d be the only reason they stay in the division.
“Dortmund, I guess there must have been a release clause. I’m assuming that Dortmund didn’t have a choice in the price. They wanted the player. The player can be gotten out of Sunderland because we saw him, as soon as he was falling onto the floor and telling everyone how much he loved playing for Sunderland and celebrating the victory and how much it meant to him, he was on a plane to Germany.”
Fellow pundit Danny Murphy took exception Jordan’s point, replying: “I don’t know why you keep bringing that up as a criticism because that’s just the world of football, you know that. You take a move from Sunderland to Dortmund every day of the week, if you get me. You’re still proud of what you achieved before you leave. My last game for Crewe Alexandra was a play-off win against Brentford in League One; I was going to Liverpool, I still enjoyed the day. I still felt proud.”
Jordan responded: “I highlight the point because football fans view the idea that players kiss the badges and want to be involved at football clubs through this slightly naive, sentimental viewpoint. And I’m highlighting it because I’m sort of saying how hypocritical it really is. When players create this atmosphere, how much they love the football club and how much they want to be there and how much it means to them – it doesn’t really. It means something to them in that moment, but to the football fans and to the football fraternity, it means probably a little bit more.”
Murphy replied: “I get that… but I think you’re asking a lot for a young player to be able to articulate himself to say, ‘Well, actually, I am really happy to be here. I’m going to make the most of this so I can then take the next step up’.”
Jordan said: “I think it’s confected. My point is, I think it’s steeped in hypocrisy because I don’t think they feel the way that they exhibit. I used to watch sometimes, with all due respect to Andy Murray, who I like, watching him on tennis courts sometimes burst into tears at things. I’d think, ‘Oh, pack it in’.
“And so maybe because I’m hard-hearted and the fact that someone is no sooner winning a play-off than they’re on a plane. I’m only reacting to the circumstances that I watched. I’m looking at it going, ‘Deep emotion, life-changing emotion. This is so affecting. By the way, what time is my flight?’.”
Musa
