Barcelona & Cesc Fabregas Episode seems to be over; Arsene Wenger retains Arsenal Captain
Since before the end of the previous season, the Barcelona management was adamant on signing Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas. Cesc Fabregas is a young Catalonian who wants to rejoin his youth club, Barcelona, after a long stay as a Gunner. He joined Arsenal in 2003, at the age of 16, but after being developed into a fine young midfielder, Fabregas has shown his desire to rejoin Barcelona.
Before the World Cup, Barcelona offered Arsenal a hefty 35 million Euros, the market price of the midfielder. However, Arsenal flatly rejected the offer, demanding more for their captain, who is probably the best midfielder in the English Premier League at the moment. Barcelona’s management did not stop in the pursuance of the young Catalonian, as they showed their interest more than often in the media circles. Things changed, however, when Barcelona signed David Villa from Valencia. This meant that the funds were now short and Barcelona would not be able to go past the market price of the midfielder.
There is only one purpose of taking a transfer issue into the media, i.e. to lure the player into pressing hard for the release. The Catalonia giants were successful, as the transfer drama was more than enough to unsettle the young midfielder. Hence, Cesc Fabregas made public statements expressing his desire of leaving the Gunners and rejoining his old club, Barcelona. He went so far in expressing his views that he used the past tense in describing his stay at Arsenal, thus showing his intent of leaving the club. Also, he was certain that Barcelona would do anything in their capacity to sign him, as he is one of their own.
This is not the only thing that troubled Arsene Wenger throughout this summer. Fabregas was a part of the Spanish squad that went to South Africa, to participate in the FIFA World Cup. The Spanish team is full of players from Barcelona, who used the International stage to create further controversy regarding the transfer saga of the Gunners’ captain. The Spanish players from Barcelona, Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol, made public statements expressing their wish to see Fabregas in Barcelona’s kit. They went to the edge during the victory parade in Madrid, when Fabregas was stormed on the stage and was forcibly put in a Barcelona’s shirt. This must have been infuriating for the Gunners’ manager, Arsene Wenger, but he surprisingly kept quiet.
Things did take a U-turn when Barcelona announced another 50 million Euros to be spent in the transfer market. There was a rumour that the funds had been produced only to make sure that Cesc Fabregas joins Barcelona at all costs. Thus, in a way the Barcelona’s board seemed to be acting in a way similar to Real Madrid. However, the Barcelona’s president came out in the public with a statement that would ease the tensions of the people at Arsenal.
Sandro Rosell, Barcelona’s president, has agreed in the press that their club has hurt the feelings of Arsenal. He has also admitted that the club was pursuing the midfielder in the wrong way. However, he assured that the club would not go too far in purchasing the youngster, indicating that the club would not pay more than the market price of the midfielder. This has clearly been a red signal to Cesc Fabregas, who had been dreaming about the Barcelona colours throughout the summer. However, Rosell assured the fans that Fabregas is a part of Barcelona, thus, he would return to the club, but maybe a year later.
These words from the president of Barcelona are words of delight for Arsene Wenger, who has been building his squad for a very long time now. The squad is being built around Cesc Fabregas, and if he had left then the fans would have seen another trophy-less season. However, now the situation is clear and Wenger can focus all his energies for the upcoming season in the English Premier League.
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