Players are often villainised when it comes to transfers. They are seen as mercenaries who are simply after the money, or as abandoning the club that has made them.
What is often forgotten is the shoe is very often on the other foot. Clubs often force players out the door, and not only fringe members of the squad. Sometimes they even do it to their best players.
The recently retired Darren Bent was on talkSPORT today when they started to discuss his move from Sunderland to Aston Villa. The striker joined the Birmingham club in a deal worth up to £24million in January 2011.
The public perception at the time was that Bent had forced the move. This was not the case.
He revealed that he had made no effort to leave Sunderland and was happy to remain at the Stadium of Light. However, he was pushed out the door. They even requested something extra from his when he was in the midst of his medical.
“People speak about loyalty, if the club said no, I wouldn’t have minded at all.”
“I’m having a medical, I get a call saying I have to put a transfer request in.” 🤷♂️
“I didn’t want to, I was made to.”@DarrenBent reveals the truth about his transfer from #SAFC to #AVFC pic.twitter.com/2hJxLhImK0— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) August 4, 2019
If they didn't want to sell me, then just say no. I was more than happy to play at that football club, I didn't say I wanted to leave. They had accepted the money, so I went down there and did my medical and left...
They allowed me to go to Villa and do the medical and stuff, then when I was just about to sign I get a phone call to tell me 'you've got to hand a transfer request in'.
They put it all back on me. I can't be sitting there about to sign for Villa and then be like 'no, I'm not doing that' because then they would completely cut the deal.
I handed the transfer request in. I didn't want to do that, but I was made to do that.
It is likely that Sunderland were playing the game of public perception here. By forcing Bent to hand in a transfer request, the club could claim they were forced to let him leave.
This would have made them less culpable in the eyes of the supporters, when the reality is they just wanted the money.
It's always worth remembering that this stuff goes both ways.
