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Ligue 1 debate: The case of former Caen striker Youssef El-Arabi and how Ligue 1 snubs its own players

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Ligue 1 debate: The case of former Caen striker Youssef El-Arabi and how Ligue 1 snubbed a talented player

The recent decision of Moroccan international Youssef El-Arabi to join Saudi Arabian football giants Al-Hilal comes as a major shock after the youngster was linked with a move to a bigger European club.
The 24-year-old scored 17 goals and provided five assists in 38 games for Stade Malherbe Caen in the 2010/2011 Ligue 1 season. The youngster finished that season as the fourth topscorer in Ligue 1. On the back of such a prolific season, many experts in France
had touted the Moroccan for a move to an even bigger club where El-Arabi might get the chance to play in Europe.
For now, rumours have taken more precedence over official transfers in the transfer market. Announcements of players linked with a certain club have dominated official signings. However, the recent news of Youssef El-Arabi’s decision to move to Middle East
has shocked everyone related to the game.
Under contract at Caen, the striker benefited from a release clause this summer and had a lot of time to choose his preferred destination.  Italian Serie A side Genoa, La Liga side Seville, English Premier League side Stoke City and a few Ligue 1 clubs were
all reportedly linked with a move for the prolific striker.
Deciding to set his foot in the Middle East goes on to show that the youngster might have decided to settle down earlier than most players do. With his career in Europe now finished, the Caen-born striker will now be seen playing in the hot climate of Middle
East.
For many, the decision to get a transfer to the cash-laden club can be summarised as Arabi’s desire to fill his http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bank-c38601 account. French sports daily, L’Equipe revealed a few days ago that the Moroccan will earn over 13 million Euros during his four-year stay
at the club while Caen will recover 7.5 million Euros for the transaction.
Inevitably, such a proposal is hard to refuse for a club like Caen that traditionally never makes a lot of tidings in the transfer market. Though the youngster would be blamed for going for the money and Caen directors would be blamed for trying to get as
much cash for the youngster as possible. However, the question that has not yet been asked is that did the centre-forward had any choice but to join http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Al-Hilal-c38309?
Infact, the above question is really the main issue if one delves into the background of a time when not even El-Arabi knew he would be approached by Al-Hilal. Fact is that El-Arabi never received any offers that Caen deemed good enough to consider. Simply
put it, the youngster was simply snubbed by the Ligue 1 clubs.
Not even the elite clubs in Ligue 1 though about making an offer for El-Arabi that was worthy of his profile. Many clubs were not willing to meet Caen’s valuation of the player as according to rumours, they believed the youngster still had a lot to prove.
Though he scored 17 goals for a side that spent much of the 2010/2011 Ligue 1 campaign in the bottom half of the table, the youngster had not justified his abilities well enough to earn him serious interest from the top clubs in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899.
Caen president, Jean-Francois Fortin while talking to the media was right when he said, “I had no contact with a club in Ligue 1. Besides, I think that most of the French clubs though little about El-Arabi and wanted him at a low price. They were wrong and
they should have known.”
Had the youngster received a serious offer from a French Ligue 1 club, he surely would have chosen to stay in Ligue 1. However, no http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Real-c30728 proposal was presented and neither did Caen receive a respectable offer for a player who was surely better than most of
the Ligue 1 strikers.
Youssef El-Arabi will now play in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Saudi-Arabia-c3000 next season and one thing is for sure that Ligue 1 has lost one of its most talented young strikers.
Views expressed here are the writer’s own and in no way represent bettor.com’s official editorial policy

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