Football supporters are way too quick to judge the player who chooses money over major honours.

A move away from Europe has now been portrayed as a surrender of ambition. A player leaves a major league, and suddenly the questions begin.

Why would he do that?

Why not stay at the highest level?

Has he wasted his career?

Perhaps we are asking the wrong question.

Consider Oscar.

In 2016, the Brazilian was 25, entering what would be the prime years of his career at Chelsea. Shanghai SIPG came calling with a reported £ 400,000-a-week contract, while Oscar had offers from Atlético Madrid, Juventus, Inter and AC Milan. He chose China.

Oscar’s explanation was revealing. He said he was thinking more about his family than his career.

He had grown up in poverty in Brazil. His father died when he was just three years of age, leaving his mother to raise three children. Football had allowed Oscar to change that story permanently.

It is easy to look at a footballer earning hundreds of thousands every week and say: “What more could you need?

But that misses the whole point.

Football is an unusually short career. A player can spend years sacrificing, training, and competing for a professional contract, only for one serious injury, a loss of form or a manager’s decision to change everything.

For supporters, football can be an identity.

For players, it can be that too.

But it can simply be a job too.

And that is where the uncomfortable truth lies with football fans.

We would rarely condemn somebody in another profession for accepting a significantly better financial opportunity. Yet footballers are routinely expected to prioritise sporting prestige, loyalty and legacy over financial security.

Then came Saudi Arabia.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr in late 2022 helped open the floodgates. Karim Benzema, Neymar, Sadio Mané, Ngolo Kanté, Riyad Mahrez, and others followed, as the Saudi Pro League began attracting established European stars with contracts European clubs often couldn’t match. Saudi clubs spent over £700 million on international transfers in 2023, compared with the £38 million the year before.

Of course, money is part of the explanation.

But why should that automatically make the decision immoral?

If a footballer has spent their entire adult life building a career that may last little more than a decade, why shouldn’t financial security be a priority?

Maybe the player wants to provide for their parents. Maybe they have children. Maybe they want to ensure that, when the football eventually ends, their family never has to worry about money again.

This is allowed too.

Footballers do not owe supporters the same priorities they have.

There will always be players who choose the Champions League, trophies and history over a bigger contract. There will always be others who decide that securing their future is more important.

Neither decision tells us everything about how much they love football.

Oscar eventually spent eight years in China, winning three league titles with Shanghai Port before returning to Brazil in 2025. This was initially framed as a purely money-driven move, but eventually it became such a key part of Oscar’s life.

We can debate whether a footballer’s decision is ambitious, understandable or financially motivated.

But before condemning them for choosing money, perhaps we should ask ourselves a simpler question:

If you knew your career was ending tomorrow, how much would you be willing to sacrifice for your future?

Because football might be our passion.

For the player, it might just be their job.