... and had Sir Bobby Robson shaking his head in disbelief.Well, ex-Newcastle defender Stuart Pearce has hit out at today's young players for being more interested in fancy cars than football.
Pearce told the story of a player who he recently asked, "Would you rather have a Ferrari or an England cap? He told me 'well, definitely a Ferrari because they are fantastic, aren't they?" said the Manchester City manager.
Pearce: "Thats just alien to me. Just as Lucas Neill's decision to move to West Ham rather than Liverpool, because of higher wages, is alien to me.
"If you've got a choice of going to Liverpool or West Ham and the wages are exactly the same, for footballing reasons you might decide to go to Liverpool. That's why West Ham have probably offered more money to someone like Lucas Neill to try and tempt the player there.
"What I would say to any player is go for footballing reasons only.
"We are not talking about the difference between poverty and extreme wealth. We are talking about extreme wealth to extreme wealth, so there isn't a great deal of contrast.
"If you look across the road to the likes of Scholesy, he's a shining light to any young aspiring footballer. Play football, concentrate on what you're doing, look after your family, keep your head down and your mouth shut. And that's all Paul Scholes does."