Former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder, Alexander Song, has revealed how he wasted all his money during his career at Emirates and Camp Nou.
The former Cameroon international Song, who spent eight years at Arsenal before joining Barcelona for £15million in 2012, said he earned £15,000-per-week in his first year at the North London club, but failed to spend wisely.
Song, 32, has also said that he struggled to save money in his account because he wanted to live like his former Gunners teammate, Thierry Henry, who was the club’s highest earner at the time.
“I spent eight years at Arsenal, but it was not until my last four that I can say that I started earning a very good living because my salary increased considerably.
“I wasted a lot of money, and I was going to expensive dinners, trips and holidays,” Song said in a live chat with his followers on Instagram video.
“During those eight years, I could not even keep £100,000 in my bank account. I thought I was a millionaire, but that was not the reality, I was making £15,000 per week.
“I came to training, saw Henry arrive in his car, I thought I needed the same no matter the cost because I was a footballer, went to the dealer, signed some papers and ended up with the same car as Henry. Still, I understood that my money was going to run out and I asked for a Toyota instead.
“Barcelona were interested in signing me, and their sporting director spoke to me, he told me that I was not going to play much football there. I told him that I don’t care. I knew that now I was going to be a billionaire.”
Song recently signed for Djibouti side Arta/Solar7 in November 2020 and has since helped them win the league title. His influence at the club has seen the likes of Salomon Kalou, Carlos Kameni and Diaffra Sakho.