Bernard Brogan is happy for the GAA to remain amateur, despite admitting to be envious of soccer stars like Wayne Rooney, who last week signed a mind-boggling £230,000 a week deal with Manchester United.

"It's unbelievable. Fantasy stuff really," the Footballer of the Year said at a Kinect Sports launch yesterday.

"God, I'd love to get up every day, not having to go into work. To just be able to focus on doing what you love. That would be unbelievable. But £230,000 a week? How do you get your head around that?



"Soccer is where the money is and those lads are fortunate enough to be born into that game. But you could pick 100 inter-county Gaelic footballers and say, if they were born in England, a high percentage of them would probably be playing soccer at the top level and getting paid big money now.

"It's just the way life lands. We see ourselves as being just as professional as them, training just as hard, if not harder. We look on ourselves as professionals even though we don't get paid. We have trainers, weights coaches, dieticians. We get hydration tests. Everything is monitored.

"But we do it for just the pride and glory of going out and representing our family and our club and, this week, our country. The GAA is unique in that way and it's brilliant to have it like that."

The Dublin sharpshooter revealed how the Australians are amazed at how the Ireland International Rules players fit in sporting preparation around their day jobs.

"They think it's gas I would from nine to half-five every day and then go training. They've had four or five honours midday sleep by that stage after training in the morning. It's a different world," he continued.

"To play at the top in the GAA, you need a good firm to work for and a boss who understands and my boss in FGS accounting has been great to me."

Davethemonk (Dublin) - Posts: 117 - 29/10/2010 11:26:30    805569

Good man Bernard!

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 29/10/2010 11:32:25    805574

fair play bernard your correct agreed with absolutely everything you said

kildare4sam2010 (Kildare) - Posts: 506 - 29/10/2010 11:47:38    805587

Just goes to show that there are still people proud to play for the jersey, unlike the money grabbing megalomaniacs in the EPL.

tribeinbrum (Galway) - Posts: 4155 - 29/10/2010 11:51:56    805590

Well said!

dammon (Meath) - Posts: 1291 - 29/10/2010 11:52:40    805591

Good on ya brogan.

hurlinspuds (Cork) - Posts: 1494 - 29/10/2010 12:00:29    805598

I grew up watching soccer in England and was enthralled as young lad. However, the obscene amounts of money bandied around these days has quashed my appetite, particularly for the Premier League. Stumbling across GAA, and the amateur ethos, has brought back that sense of enthrallment and fascination that i had for soccer as a kid, so i applaud and take my hat off to the likes of BB and applaud the ethos of playing sport for the love of the game rather than greed.

Tongo (UK) - Posts: 1795 - 29/10/2010 12:06:08    805607

A Dub who prefers the 'gah' to Man U........ I'm bleedin speechless.

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 29/10/2010 12:07:04    805609

A Dub who prefers the 'gah' to Man U........ I'm bleedin speechless.

___________________________

shocking isnt it

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13654 - 29/10/2010 12:17:47    805620

Absolutely, well said. I think people like ourselves who are so immersed in the games can become over-critical when we're looking from the inside out. It's great to see someone like Bernard say that. Fair play!

doublehop (Kildare) - Posts: 4172 - 29/10/2010 12:27:16    805636

I agree with him about GAA and all and wouldn't have it any other way, but I think the stuff about soccer is just cliche. there are exceptions in soccer but most soccer players either have amazing talent or have worked extremely hard to get where they are.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12372 - 29/10/2010 12:33:30    805641

Great stuff Bernard.

thykingdomcome (Kerry) - Posts: 1206 - 29/10/2010 12:42:40    805650

"But you could pick 100 inter-county Gaelic footballers and say, if they were born in England, a high percentage of them would probably be playing soccer at the top level and getting paid big money now"

Dream on bud. Perhaps George Best should have togged out for Antrim lol. Messi must be kicking himself he wasn`t born in ireland, he could be a selling lotto tickets for his local gaa club and be running around in wellingtons chasing his cattle until sunday comes. What a shame.

AfricanGael (UK) - Posts: 1947 - 29/10/2010 12:50:54    805656

Go on ya good thing Brogan.

Like others I suppose I became immersed in the soccer thingy throughout from about 8yrs of age. I suppose like all kids then and now it was done to fit in amongst your peers. I was also a GAA head and soccer 'did me' just to feel like part of the gang (thats sounds a bit 'billy no mates' esque) GAA wasn't as marketed the soccer was then. Now every second young lad wears a GAA jersey and it's fantastic to see.

Now that we're more mature and don't feel the need to belong to any group we go back to where we really belong. Give me GAA any day of the week.

sedico (Kildare) - Posts: 1682 - 29/10/2010 13:03:05    805667

Well sad Bernard and when the likes of our footballer of the year comes out with such a statement, then it makes us all tha nkful for the great organisation that we are part of!

Soccer has its merits but... and there is a lot of them!

carlowman (Carlow) - Posts: 1879 - 29/10/2010 13:09:51    805672

Bernard is a class class footballer but is turning into Mr Media! Fair play if he gets a few quid out of it but the constant soundbites are getting a tad repetitive.

jonny1951 (Mayo) - Posts: 1431 - 29/10/2010 13:16:28    805679

Jaysus Jonny give it a rest. BB is in the limelight at the moment because of the Aussie rules - he is footballer of the year remember also.
He is a credit to club, county and country and as a high profile dub player he makes good press !

BigSur (Westmeath) - Posts: 1185 - 29/10/2010 13:35:33    805693

Breffni39
County: Cavan
Posts: 3873

805641 I agree with him about GAA and all and wouldn't have it any other way, but I think the stuff about soccer is just cliche. there are exceptions in soccer but most soccer players either have amazing talent or have worked extremely hard to get where they are.

Your honour, the prosecution presents Kevin Kilbane, Paul McShane, Caleb Folan, John O'Shea, Glen Whelan, Keith Andrews and Darremn Gibson..all International Standard Footballers

Mikeynora (Limerick) - Posts: 888 - 29/10/2010 13:43:32    805701

hurlingdub
County: Dublin
Posts: 2566

805609
A Dub who prefers the 'gah' to Man U........ I'm bleedin speechless.

seriously how have u got dub next to your name you realy must have two country people as parents bcoz i have never read 1 decent comment towards dublin footballers from you on hoganstand,its sad how much you are jealous of footballers in dublin

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 29/10/2010 13:59:16    805722

"But you could pick 100 inter-county Gaelic footballers and say, if they were born in England, a high percentage of them would probably be playing soccer at the top level and getting paid big money now"

Dream on bud. Perhaps George Best should have togged out for Antrim lol. Messi must be kicking himself he wasn`t born in ireland, he could be a selling lotto tickets for his local gaa club and be running around in wellingtons chasing his cattle until sunday comes. What a shame.

Erm... neither of them were born in England.

doublehop (Kildare) - Posts: 4172 - 29/10/2010 14:03:07    805724