I for one thought that Cesc Fabregas would be a Barcelona player by now. Seeing him with the rest of the Spanish squad at the World Cup, even before being ambushed with a Barca shirt by Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol, made me think he was missing home, and that he was ready to compile one of the finest teams I was about to witness. But that is all past tense, and at present, and for the foreseeable future, Fabregas is an Arsenal player.
All the rumours surrounding Barcelona’s interest in the Arsenal captain had rumbled on from the summer before. Fabregas pledged his loyalty to Arsenal then, but the concrete offers that came from the Nou Camp this summer would have given Fabregras serious food for thought. Arsene Wenger, at his stubborn best, maintained that his prize asset was staying, and ultimately his persuasive skills paid off. This transfer saga – it seems compulsory to label any potential deal that lasts more than a few weeks a saga – went on for such a protracted length of time because the man himself seemed so torn between the two clubs. Potentially it was a signal to the power clubs in Europe that simply bullying clubs into submission until they part with their treasures was no longer going to be as straight forward in the future (this is not to say that Arsenal are not a powerful European club, just not as big as Barcelona). Unfortunately, I think this may have been an isolated incident.
If Fabregas was at any other club other than Arsenal, he would have signed for Barcelona. His split loyalties eventually meant that he had to turn down his boyhood club in favour for his adopted home. In other circumstances, different players, at different clubs will more often than not, chase the money and the chance of bigger glories, and you could argue that they are totally entitled to do such. James Milner looks certain to complete his move to Manchester City from Aston Villa, particularly now that Martin O’Neill has parted company with the club. The club with the more money (lots more) and greater chance of trophies has kept knocking at the Villa door until it eventually caves in.
Last summer, like an ancient colonial power, Real Madrid managed to bully their way across half of Europe gorging on the best players from the France, England and Italy (Benzema, Ronaldo and Kaka respectively) to create the most expensive team assembled. When Roman Abramovich first arrived to Stamford Bridge, his outfit managed to get the best talent both abroad and domestically, with Michael Essien, Didier Drogba and Arjen Robben amongst others leaving smaller clubs on the continent for a shot at the higher glories with, at the time, the richest club in the world.
It is hard to imagine players not being tempted by moves to the likes of Barcelona. Who wouldn’t be intoxicated by the thought of playing in that stadium, with those players? It is also difficult to see clubs turning down the amounts of money they are being offered for the said players. Arsenal managed to buck the trend because they don’t have debts that need urgent seeing to, and they have a player who loves the club. It may have been a wake-up call for Barcelona, who were probably as convinced as anyone that they would secure Fabregas’ services, that they can’t have literally any player that they want, but it is hard to imagine that this will now be the norm. Realistically, money still talks.
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With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery
