Colombia legend disses Everton over Mina transfer

Sometimes, when a person was a very good player back in their day, journalists want to hear what they have to say.

Many times, those takes are well thought out and appreciated. For instance, rarely has Pele said something that I thought was just utterly disconnected from reality. The same could have been said for the late Alfredo di Stefano or even a person like Diego Maradona.

But Carlos Valderrama, who is already on the Alexi Lalas list of people with hair more famous than their game, decided to become even more like the American commentator by adding terrible football takes to this repertoire.

Speaking to a radio station in Colombia, Valderrama had the following to say about the reported Yerry Mina transfer to Everton:

The Premier League is attractive but for me the Champions League is the most prestigious, I don’t think Yerry should join a mid-table team like Everton. Fatih Terim has a great record of developing players. If it were me, I would pick Galatasaray.

Alright, look, I like the UEFA Champions League as much as anyone, for me, it really is the greatest competition in all the world... but ignoring what domestic a league a team plays in and only talking about the Champion’s league is absolute nonsense. By that kind of logic, Yerry Mina should be excited to play for Torpedo Kutaisi of Georgia or Suduva Marijampole of Lithuania, after all they are playing Champion’s League games as we speak!

If his comments had been about going to a German or Italian Champions League club, okay, fine, there’s something to talk about there, but don’t give me this mess about a team from the league that’s 10th in UEFA coefficients, with less than half England’s total points.

Galatasaray has some good players, but they would struggle to even stay up in the English Premier League, which is one of the very best domestic leagues in the world. How do I know this? Bafetimbi Gomis at age 32 is an absolute star for the Sarı-Kırmızılılar and he absolutely stunk at recently relegated Swansea City AFC.

Champions League football is a great aspiration for any player, just as it’s a great aspiration for any club, but Yerry Mina will not become the best possible version of himself defending Umut Bulut and what’s left of Ryan Babel on a nightly basis. He can get there playing against the great players England has on offer.

Perhaps the former Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion player Valderrama should take a little more time to learn a thing or two about how good English football actually is.