“It’s not like he’s using the money to throw lavish parties for his friends because he hasn’t got none.”
There appears to be some bad blood between Tony Adams and Arsene Wenger.
It hasn’t soured yet to the point of Sir Alex Ferguson’s relationship with Roy Keane, but all doesn’t seem to be well between the Arsenal manager and his former captain.
Words of wisdom… https://t.co/Z4mXR5dNnU
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Adams has a book coming out in June about the last 20 years of his life, and in the newspaper serialisation of the book took a few swipes at the Arsenal manager.
The former Arsenal captain said Wenger “couldn’t coach his way out of a paper bag” and that the Gunners boss blocked his return to the club on several occasions.
Adams claimed he applied for a youth team job at the club where he played for 19 years, but Wenger was cold on the idea, and the pair are no longer close.
The 50-year-old, who was recently caretaker manager with relegated La Liga side Granada, also said in an interview with Donald McRae for The Guardian that Wenger blocked him holding a book signing event at Arsenal.
Adams called Wenger “one of the greatest managers of all time” in the interview, but was also critical of his former manager.
The former England captain also said that Wenger remained at Arsenal because he seeks control and has “total dominance” at the club.
Wenger had his say https://t.co/jPklaMQGPQ
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) May 28, 2017
“That’s why I think he’ll hold on to Arsenal,” Adams said.
“He (Wenger) said: ‘I’ve turned down every club in the world’. But he would’ve been sacked after a year at (Real) Madrid. He would’ve had to go to from club to club.
“But, at Arsenal, he’s got total dominance. The board do nothing. Arsene has a free rein. He’s earning them so much money he can do what he wants. And I don’t think Arsene can let go. It’s an addiction.”
Adams’ criticism of Wenger then became somewhat personal in the interview.
The former Arsenal captain hit out at Wenger’s relationship with money and depicted him as a lonely, isolated figure.
“He’s also got a weird relationship with money,” Adams said.
“He’s on £8m a year but Arsenal’s junior coaches are on 30 grand. Chelsea’s coaches are on £90,000. Take £7m, Arsene, and give them all a rise.
“It’s not like he’s using the money to throw lavish parties for his friends because he hasn’t got none. He’s only got a few guys in France. I feel a bit sorry for him.”
At this point, the relationship between the two might be completely fractured.
