Just hours after Barcelona said that they bad ‘entered formal discussions’ with Arsenal over Cesc Fabregas, and Xavi cheekily commented (in fairness, he answered the question posed to him) that he was certain that Fabregas would be joining Barcelona this summer, Arselona Arsenal have issued a definite rejection.
Some would call this just the first move in what will be a long-drawn summer wrangle in the longest-running transfer saga in football history. Whether you think that Arsenal will hold their ground for real or whether you think this is just for show, that’s up to you, but if we’re to take football clubs at their word (hah!), then Arsenal’s response is a neatly-wrapped ‘f*** off’.
The Arsenal statement:
“Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is under contract with the Club until the summer of 2015. He is a highly valued member of the team and part of our future plans.
We have followed recent speculation linking Cesc with a move away from the club but as there has never been any official approach for him, only two informal exchanges, in which we made it abundantly clear that we have no interest in transferring Cesc, we have refrained from publicly passing comment.
However, yesterday evening we received an offer from Barcelona for Cesc and in response, we immediately and resolutely told them once again that we have no intention of selling our captain.
To be clear, we will not make any kind of counterproposal or enter into any discussion. Barcelona have publicly stated that they will respect our position and we expect that they will keep their word.”
For what it’s worth, props to Arsenal for standing their ground, it’s never nice to see transfers being played out in the press. Having said that, can they hold on to Fabregas if he wants to go? Will Blatter raise the slavery argument again?
“Barcelona have publicly stated that they will respect our position and we expect that they will keep their word.”
And pigs will fly…
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