Should have taken a paycut and moved to a team like Schalke, Tottenham etc. Now he will disappear from the face of the earth like Dirk Kuyt
Lets not be naive and think that money didnt play a role here
But what about our lovely Yolanthe Cabau and her career? Wont be surprised to see a split or her living separately
Yolantha even visited Istanbul for some days of work within her career. I'm surprised by how little people know about other countries, don't you ever travel or research stuff?
Istanbul is a global city, the youth population (people under age of 30) is the biggest in Europe, it's basically the countries economical and cultural capital. Officially around 12 million people live there (unofficially even more of course). It's a melting pot where people from different backgrounds (arts, music, business etc.) come together and it's worth a visit. Among travellers Istanbul has already become a favorite besides Paris, Barcelona, Berlin etc. Until now, not one of the people I know (and there are some really conservatives among them) didn't like their visit. Turkey's economic growth within the last couple of years outperformed any other European countries' growth.
That said, I think it's just ignorant to think that Istanbul is a place living in the medieval times. Reading the posts here, I get that feeling. Who knows, some of you might have seen the great city already.
Money actually played a very big role here. Than again, just because of Inter's financial mismanagement he was "forced" to accept a paycut which he didn't want to. In that case I think it's just normal to ask what you have signed for or to leave for another club since your current doesn't want to pay you anymore. Especially considering the fact that Manchester wanted him in 2010 I guess and Inter didn't let him leave. Why would it be Sneijder's fault when Inter can't manage their finances?
Going to Tottenham or Liverpool would have been great brandwise, since playing in EPL is one of the best things that can happen to a football player. But again, there's almost no chance with Tottenham to succeed in the EPL nor is it with Liverpool. With Gala he can win Championships in a great Stadium, in a great City, has the chance to play CL every year and can be the leader of the team
Galatasaray are gonna make a shitload of money with shirt sales
Shirt sales are overrated. The margin of every shirt is among 8 € in Germany (according to a FAZ article), which is not that much. So you would need to sell like 1 million shirts to really get the cash back you paid for Sneijder (7.5 M € they say).
Again, money is very important, but not everything that counts. Anzhi offered him 12 M € yearly or something on that level but he didn't accept.
Apparently, one of Gala's directors just told some stuff about the signing process. According to his statements, Sneijder is very keen to start playing for Gala. He watched last weekends game with one of the directors (where he did not yet sign for Gala) and came to a conclusion that he could help the team and would fit in perfectly. Then he watched the game of Gala's rivals Fenerbahce the next day. So, as far as I can tell and I am surely not the most objective in this case, it seems like a win-win situation.
Bad for some of you who can't turn on a Turkish football match or find a streaming link on the internet. So bye bye Sneijder, welcome Sneijder.