West Ham United might be splashing out big money on players but what was the world’s 16th richest sportsman of all time doing at the London Stadium?
West Ham pay top earner Javier Hernandez £140,000 per week.
But that pales into insignificance compared to another ball striker spotted at the Hammers’ London Stadium this week.
That’s because Major League Baseball legend Alex Rodriguez was in town.
The former New York Yankees shortstop and third baseman famously pocketed two of the biggest sports contracts in history.
A-Rod dwarfs Premier League top earners
A-Rod picked up two of the top four sporting contracts of all time when he signed up to receive £215 million and £196 million during his playing days.
That is four times what West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini spent on his squad in the summer in what was an unprecedented splurge for the Hammers.
Those deals and his other considerable earnings have made Rodriguez the 16th richest sportsman of all time with a £466 million fortune (Sports Illustrated).
But why was he at West Ham’s home ground?
It is all to promote the groundbreaking MLB London Series between the Yankees and world champions the Boston Red Sox next June.
Baseball legend delivers emphatic London Stadium verdict
Rodriguez was pictured on the centre circle with a baseball bat.
And he told the press it was “a dream come true” to bring his sport’s greatest rivalry to England.
West Ham’s London Stadium will host the two-game series which will be the first time the MLB has staged a match Europe.
Some supporters will be excited at the prospect.
And A-Rod is too as he delivered an emphatic verdict on the much-criticised London Stadium.
“It’s a beautiful, beautiful stadium,” Rodriguez told Sky Sports.
“I want to go down and walk it, I want to see it. I want to see what the background’s going to look like.
“From a visual point of view it looks like a tremendous place to play baseball.”
Stark contrast to stinging criticism
That’s a stark contrast to what many people think of the ground as a home for football.
The London Stadium was recently voted by some journalists as the worst place to watch the beautiful game in the world (Claret & Hugh).
One journalist even said it shouldn’t count as it does not qualify as a football stadium.
For the baseball the ground will be reduced to a capacity of 57,000. It will then be transformed into a baseball configuration for the series on June 29 and 30.
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