Gooner Lad » Barcelona

Arsenal give Barca 2 weeks to pay for Cesc

goonerlad — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:35:14 +0000

Arsenal have given Catalan outfit Barcelona 2 weeks to cough up the cash for Cesc Fabregás.

Otherwise the wantaway Spanish midfield star will stay put at the gunners.

A Barcelona source said last night: “Arsenal FC have let it be known that unless a deal for Fabregás is sorted by the end of the month then he will stay in London.

“They said although they never wanted to sell their captain they were prepared to reluctantly accept Cesc’s request to come home to Barcelona.

“Arsenal have insisted they have been very fair to Fabregás and Barcelona and this situation is not healthy for neither and has to end.

“They are not prepared to wait much longer and after staying silent throughout the summer, they will issue a public statement to draw a line under this matter at the start of next month.

“We understand there is no way they will sell Fabregás for what we offered but the decision rests with Sandro Rossell, the Barca president.”

Fabregas, who is injured, sat out Arsenal’s trip to Asia, will have talks with Arsene Wenger today after the team’s return to London.

The Arsenal boss said Cesc is set to travel with them to Cologne for a friendly next Friday – and that will pile up the pressure on president Rossell to pay up the full asking price for the player.

Wenger said: “We will have to see how far Cesc is with his injury.

“Normally, yes I expect him to come to Cologne. He is not back in full training, he is back running on the pitch and the next step is to be back in full training. I will assess him on Monday.

“He is in my plans for the rest of pre-season. The problem is we face speculation from everywhere but my target is the same, to keep the players.”

Therefore, after weeks of what they see as insulting behaviour – like Barcelona midfielder Xavi’s statement last week that Cesc is ‘suffering’ at Arsenal – the North London club have said enough is enough.

The European champions have so far offered £31.6m which was instantly rejected by Arsenal for their star player and one of the world’s best midfielders.

If Arsenal were to put Cesc up for auction then Chelsea and Manchester City would certainly be prepared to raise the stakes to over £50m.

Wenger is fighting to convince Cesc Fabregás to stay at Arsenal and it looks increasingly likely Barcelona will miss out on him again, unless they are prepared this time to put their money where their mouth is.

Barcelona talk to Cesc’s family

goonerlad — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:38:28 +0000

clipped from thegoonblog.com

Barcelona talk to Cesc Fabregas’ family

Over the past month or so we have witnessed one of the most in your face campaigns of tapping up from Barcelona. Its public, against the law and disgraceful.

It is widely reported in the Spanish press (Marca, El Mundo, Sport.es) that yesterday there was a lengthy conversation between Cesc’s family (believed to be his mother and sisters) and the Barcelona president Sandro Rosell. Now, I’m not going to make any accusations that there was anything untoward going on but its not the sort of thing you want to see as an Arsenal fan.

Theres no point being patronising about how important family is to Cesc, of course it is going to be important – but seeing Barcelona getting so up close and personal with Cesc and his family is rather disconcerting. He is surrounded by lifelong friends and Barcelona players and who knows the effect that might have on him, I still feel he will stay but I’m not so confident as a few days ago before the Pique comments.

Barcelona to Make Cesc a Priority

goonerlad — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:38:00 +0000

clipped from www.thesun.co.uk

BARCELONA’S new president has made signing Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas his No1
priority.

Sandro Rosell was unveiled as the new Nou Camp supremo after scooping a
whopping 61 per cent of the vote in the club’s presidential election.

He replaces outgoing chief Joan Laporta — the man he famously fell
out with in 2005.

But despite their differences remaining well-documented, the pair embraced
last night after the results were announced.

And Rosell claims his first intention is to speak to his predecessor regarding
the move for 23-year-old Fabregas.

Barcelona have already had a £29million bid for the Gunners captain turned
down but Rosell is adamant the Catalans will get their man.

He said: “When Laporta and I get together, he will explain at what stage the
Cesc situation is at.

“If negotiations are advanced and the coaching staff want the player, we will
continue with the negotiations, without doubt.

Andrés Iniesta ruled out of Arsenal v Barcelona clash at the Emirates

goonerlad — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:21:11 +0000

Arsenal will face a Barcelona side without influential midfielder Andrés Iniesta after he was ruled out of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with a hamstring injury.

The Spain international was replaced just after half-time in last night’s Primera Division win over Real Mallorca and, after undergoing tests today, it was announced that he is likely to be sidelined for around 10 days.
Barcelona were once more imperious in their victory over Mallorca despite a seemingly narrow 1-0 win.

more here at The Telegraph

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger aims to emulate Barça

goonerlad — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:31:55 +0000

The Gunners boss has told Arsenal fans angry at the clubs lack of activity in the transfer market to reflect on Barcelona’s success last season after they sold Ronaldinho and Deco and went on to win the Champions League and La Liga

FEW Gunners fans need reminding that the past four years have been pretty barren as far as silverware goes.

And there has been little to suggest this summer that manager Arsene Wenger is ready to ditch his policy of nurturing young talent in favour of buying league-winning superstars.

The Frenchman even admits one fan described last season to him as a “disaster”.

But he has moved to dispel the doom by claiming that despite the lack of big arrivals – and the departures of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City – the bare minimum is success both at home and in Europe.

Wenger said: “What is acceptable anymore? With Arsenal, acceptable means winning the championship and the Champions League.

full story here at the london paper

Yaya Toure turns down new contract at Barcelona

goonerlad — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:07:35 +0000

Yaya Toure, the Barcelona midfielder who is attracting the interest of Arsenal, has turned down a new contract offer from the European champions, giving manager Arsene Wenger hope that he could persuade the player to move to the Emirates Stadium.

The Ivory Coast international’s agent Dimitri Seluk, according to a report in the Sun newspaper, revealed that the Catalan club were unwilling to meet his client’s request for a 15 per cent pay rise.

Toure, who has had a terrific season playing either in central midfield or, on occasion, as a stand-in central defender, is believed to be one of the lowest paid players at the club, on a wage of around £45,000-a-week.

Read the full story here Telegraph

Barça’s Toure keen on switch to Arsenal

goonerlad — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:04:14 +0000

ARSENE Wenger is ready to enter a bidding war with AC Milan to pit Yaya Toure alongside brother Kolo at Arsenal.

Boss Wenger is preparing a £12million bid for the Barcelona star but accepts he may have to improve on that following the midfielder’s impressive Champions League performances against Chelsea and Manchester United.