Football News: Cesc Fabregas to join Arsenal by August; Carles Puyol retires
Cesc Fabregas has been informed by Arsenal that he has to join the squad and start his pre-season training by early August. Fabregas is still busy in Spain celebrating the country’s World Cup win with his colleagues against the Netherlands and is scheduled to go on holidays. Concurrently, Arsenal is fending off Barcelona’s interest in him as well by asking Fabregas to leave Spain as soon as possible.
The Arsenal captain has requested Arsene Wenger that he wants at least three weeks to numb the overwhelming exertion that he put in during South Africa 2010. Despite the request, Fabregas has been informed that he needs to start training and be back in England by the 2nd of August.
Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger has included Fabregas in the squad which will play some of the club’s friendly matches against Legia Warsaw on the 7th of August. The team will also take part in the English Premier League curtain raiser against Liverpool on the 15th of August.
However, Fabregas will not be playing in the Emirates Cup matches against Celtic and AC Milan in late July, and there is a high chance that we would see him in the stands rooting for his team. Time and again, Arsene Wenger has insisted that his captain is not for sale and is a vital part of Arsenal’s campaign for 2011.
Fabregas was embarrassed in an uncalled for incident during Spain’s World Cup celebrations when fellow players Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol forcibly put a Barcelona shirt over him in Madrid. Fabregas made it clear to the media that the shirt incident was nothing more than a practical joke. Fabregas commented on the topic by saying that it was a special moment for Spaniards all across the globe and he thinks that it should not go on for more than that as it was just another part of a great night.
He said that during such moments, no one knows what was happening as he too was surprised by the incident. Fabregas said that at first, he thought the shirt incident was a joke as he believed that everyone would just enjoy it and then forget about it. However, when Fabregas was questioned on where he would play in the upcoming season, Cesc was a lot more serious in answering the question.
Doubts have emerged in Arsenal after Arsene Wenger received two bids from Barcelona amounting to £29 million and £35 million to buy the team captain. However, Arsenal refused on both occasions.
In other news, Spain’s World Cup star Player Carles Puyol has announced his retirement from international football. The player had claimed last year that if Spain won the World Cup and became the first European team to win the World Cup outside of Europe, then he would retire from international football.
Puyol, who is now 32 years old, believes that it was the best time to retire from international football. Puyol played his first game with Spain some ten years ago and has finished with 90 appearances.
It has been reported that Puyol has refused to take part in his clubs match against Mexico. The decision came after the star player held a meeting with the Director of Spanish Football Federation along with Spanish Coach Vicente Del Bosque.
Even though Coach Del Bosque wants Puyol to move ahead with his international career and make the one hundred appearances mark, Puyol has decided to stick with his decision.
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