I know, I’m exaggerating but seriously how much money is enough? Have you seen the lifestyle he already lives on his reduced wages? It starts coming across as greed when most fans will be struggling to heat their house this winter
To be fair if I were in his shoes I'd insist on the 17m too, I think the vast majority of people would agree with the player on this battle.
People who rip into sportspeople on high wages need to remember that they are the peak of their business, and the peak people in almost every other notable business earn considerably more than they do. Farming, retail, banking, I.T., accounting, law, engineering, healthcare, film (both directing and acting), even art (Damien Hirst made a cool $198m from an auction in 2008). The people who earn the top in the world of football are still lagging behind. I'm not saying it's right, but I am saying that footballers probably aren't the ones we should be worrying about. They're small time. If you really want to rage against the machine, stop buying stuff made by Nestle, shipped by Amazon. Easier said than done :S