For the love of the game

'His head is never in the clouds, his words are always moderate, he has strong moral values'.

Words spoken of a top-flight footballer, but whom? Well, it's not Wayne Rooney...it's Damiano Tommasi. He's the AS Roma midfielder who has asked his team to pay him only the minimum wage. Apparently he simply wanted to return to playing football at the highest level and economic considerations were low on his list of priorities...he signed on because he 'loves football'.

Of course, its far too easy in circumstances like this to point to comparisons but some might call it 'refreshing' to hear of a top-level footballer driven by motives other than financial renumeration. I don't believe footballers are only driven by money but I wonder whether this guy might consider going down the Tomassi route?