And here's my opinion: He doesn't care.
As majority of the players, he's in the game to earn money. Just like majority of people here would leave their job for a bigger wage somewhere else. Instead of 6mln he's going to earn a lot more. It's millions we're talking about. I don't think many players care about the jersey, they are there to their job. He doesn't care when the club was founded and how many titles they have in their room. He's targeting a team that will pay him the most while playing at the top level, etc. Assou-Ekotto said it publically how he wants to earn, people will most likely mock and laugh at him, but truth is -- that goes for vast majorty, yet they don't say it for the same reason. It's like when people say 'wow he picked Juve among others'. Dude, they still give him millions of euros. There are many humble players who accept lower wages but people have to realize they still make millions, not pennys. Same goes for players who reject offers from other clubs (Hernanes), he's taking every penny, it's not his fault they bought him and offered him such a big contract tied for many years. Just like players wants to earn, clubs wanna make profits. I'm pretty sure Juve tried to keep him, though. So there's nothing to cry about at this point. He wanted a different path, he chose it. And again, people will laugh when/if Manchester fails to win, qualify for the CL, etc. But they will forget one thing: he doesn't care. By the time his contract runs out he'll earn like 20mln euros more compared to being here. Many people (not football players) chose to have fun over careers. Some players chose money instead of 'making fans happy'.
He was one of my fav players no doubt. Do I care he left at this point? Not really.
