Why This Attacker Snubbing Arsenal And Staying At His Club Is Similar To Ronaldo’s Situation At Manchester United

After all the drama taking place at the start of the season and linking a number of players away for the champions of England, Leicester City have actually done pretty well to hold onto two of their stars, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez.

The duo were linked with big money moves to Arsenal and Chelsea respectively, Mahrez was also linked to a host of other big clubs but the Algerian stayed put and signed a new deal, just like Vardy, keeping him at the King Power Stadium until 2020.

The new deal might mean that Mahrez will be a Leicester player till he is 30 years of age but we all know that contracts in football mean nothing and this only serves as a way for Leicester to get the maximum for the player when he does leave the club.

The Foxes might have been defeated in the first game of the season and then drew against Arsenal but the signs are good for the team as they look to repeat their fantastic performance from last season.

One thing is a given, Mahrez staying at the club does provide people a lot of hope that footballers are willing to stay at a club and see what happens over the long run rather than jump ship when possible. The days of one-club men are long gone with players such as John Terry and Mark Noble, yes Noble was on a couple of loan spells but it does provide an insight as to how football have changed over the years.

Loyalty does come at a price and more often than not for a player who is not English, he will move away from the club, sooner or later. Cristiano Ronaldo is a perfect example of this. The Portuguese star was probably the best Manchester United player the club had in years and led them to Champions League glory in 2008; he was linked with a big-money move to Real Madrid.

When Real Madrid come calling you do not think twice and end up signing for them, well unless you have Louis van Gaal blocking the fax machines, but Ronaldo did not sway and stuck by Manchester United for another season to see what happens.

That was certainly a surprise in this day and age of football but it did prove to be good for the now Real Madrid man as he took the time to make a decision and even left the club on good terms. In fact, no one has bad feelings towards Ronaldo, even though Manchester United have never been the same and the team have always been linked with a move back for the Portuguese star.

Ronaldo left the club with the blessings of Sir Alex Ferguson and is still revered at Old Trafford. Mahrez might not reach the heights that Ronaldo did during but the Algerian has still proved to be a great example of loyalty, for now.

Maybe this is a sign of things to come in the future of football, Mahrez and Vardy stuck around and if the Algerian does have another great season, this time, around, there will be more clubs battling it out for his signature.

Barcelona, Chelsea, and Arsenal were all trying to get Mahrez to their team before the start of this campaign but Claudio Ranieri got him to stay just a little longer. Even if Leicester do win the league or if they finish mid table, Mahrez could move away for a record fee but no one will grudge him for that. He did not jump ship at the first instant he got and instead stuck to see how the project goes before making a decision about where he could win more and maybe, just maybe, this is something that other footballers can learn soon, the way to conduct yourself during a transfer window and not say much to the media.