The word 'project' refers not to a collaborative enterprise towards a particular aim but a large sack, typically of burlap or hessian, bulging with money, Back of the Net can exclusively reveal.
Footballers who use the term in relation to joining a new team are less interested in the club’s tactics or possible future signings and more by the piles of cash that they will soon be sleeping on.
The term is believed to originate with Abu Dhabi United Group, who referred to their takeover and funding of Manchester City as a ‘project’ rather than a vain, self-indulgent mixture of image-laundering and whimsy.
Since then, the word has evolved to mean ‘a bag of cash’, ‘a box of gold bars’, ‘a safe deposit box stuffed with Rembrandts’, and ‘a jewel-encrusted fabergé egg sewn into the lining of an ordinary-looking raincoat’.
Ex-Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke, speaking at his unveiling at Anfield, said: “I am delighted to have joined Liverpool, after productive negotiations about the nature of their project.
“The project at Aston Villa was quite modest and ultimately unfulfilling compared to the Liverpool project, which is so ambitious I can barely fit it all into the back of my car.”
New projects
Similarly, Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea affirmed: “Everyone knows that Real Madrid have the most exciting project in the world, but I’ll be happy to stay at Old Trafford as long as they dramatically revise their project upwards.
“This project isn’t just for me. I also want to provide a range of small but interesting projects for my friends and relatives to keep them busy after I retire.”
De Gea also said that he had been impressed by Louis van Gaal’s vision, where ‘vision’ refers to the veteran Dutch manager’s luxury BMW Vision, adding that he could see it being an important part of any new suggested project.
More from Back of the Net on FFT.com
