Former Liverpool star Jonjo Shelvey has opened up on his reasons for leaving the UK. The midfielder made 278 Premier League appearances during spells at Newcastle United, Liverpool, Swansea City and Nottingham Forest.
He also made six appearances for England under Roy Hodgson but never featured in a major tournament for the Three Lions. Shelvey currently plays for UAE second division side Arabian Falcons after leaving Burnley in the summer.
And the 33-year-old has now had his say on the unusual move – insisting there are no financial reasons behind the decision.
“I’ve since seen a few things like, ‘He’s gone there for money.’ I’m thinking, ‘What money?’ There’s no money in the UAE Second Division League,” he told BBC Sport.
“The ballpark of the standard wage here is £2,000-a-month for a footballer. In terms of what I’ve earned throughout my career, that’s nothing.
“My brother earns more working in a hotel in London, so it was never about coming here for the money.”
Elaborating further on his latest move, Shelvey admits enjoying his football and leaving England was also a motivation. He said: “I’ve had my time. I’m happy and content.
“I’m just at the stage now where I want to enjoy football. It’s about waking up, enjoying what I do and spending time with my family.
“If I’m honest, I don’t want my children growing up in England any more. We’re very lucky that we lived in a nice part of the UK but where I’m from, originally, you can’t have nice things in my opinion.
“I’d never wear a watch in London any more. You can’t have your phone out in London, in my view.”
He added: “I’m not massive on reading politics. I just see some of the things that go on.
“I see people getting arrested for tweeting and, then, all of the flags and ‘taking back the country’. I’m not going to sit here and comment on things like that because I’m not clever enough to, and I’ll get myself into trouble if I carry on, but I just feel that the UK isn’t what it was 10 to 15 years ago.”