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'Stressed' Fabregas examining legal options to push through move from Arsenal to Barcelona
Gunners midfielder increasingly anxious dream move will fall through
3 Jun 2010 10:46:00
EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey | Chief Correspondent
Cesc Fabregas is examining his legal options in a bid to force through a move to Barcelona, Goal.com UK can exclusively reveal.
The Arsenal skipper is so keen to engineer a transfer to his boyhood club that he has even considered the possibility of exploiting a FIFA rule that allows players to buy out the remainder of their contract.
The problem for Fabregas is that it would cost £28.6million to buy out his £110,000-a-week contract, which has five years still to run.
MORE...
Article 17 of FIFA’s Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players, known as the ‘Webster ruling’, states that a player who signed a deal before the age of 28 can buy himself out of the remainder of the contract three years after the deal was signed.
Fabregas would be eligible because he signed his original eight-year contract in 2006 before, as Goal.com UK exclusively revealed, it was topped up last year with a £3m ‘golden handcuffs’ payment, a 40 per cent pay rise and extended by another 12 months.
The 23-year-old is understood to be increasingly anxious about whether his return to Barcelona will go-ahead and has told friends that he is feeling “stressed” and “powerless” as the negotiations between the two clubs becoming increasingly fractious.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is keen for Fabregas to commit to another year at Emirates Stadium but the player is adamant that he wants to return to Spain after the World Cup.
Barca made a bid of £29.2m on Tuesday evening but their first official approach met with a blunt refusal from Arsenal.
Arsenal’s attitude now is that they will only respond to specific offers from Barcelona for Fabregas and will not enter into any negotiations, whether formal or informal.
The Premier League club issued a statement, believed to have been written by Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis, on Wednesday, which was their first since Fabregas informed Wenger that he wanted to leave, and was unusually strongly worded.
"Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is under contract with the club until the summer of 2015," said the statement. "He is a highly valued member of the team and part of our future plans. 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, [on Tuesday 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.
"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."
That, however, is highly unlikely, with Barcelona believing that they have now taken the first step in a process of negotiations.
"We won’t be hasty but nor will we let up," said Barcelona director Rafael Yuste. "The ball is in Arsenal’s court now and as we have an exceptional relationship with them I am optimistic."
MORE...
There is now pressure on the player to publicly declare his desire to leave or hand in a transfer request, while Barcelona will need to offer far more money to have any chance of clinching a deal.
Fabregas’ good friend Alexander Hleb used the Webster ruling to engineer his own switch from Arsenal to Barca two summers ago.
He made veiled threats to the club and, in the event, a transfer fee was involved but the Belarussian was in a stronger position than Fabregas because he had just one year left to run on his contract.
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By Wayne Veysey | Chief Correspondent
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Cesc Fabregas is examining his legal options in a bid to force through a move to Barcelona, Goal.com UK can exclusively reveal.
The Arsenal skipper is so keen to engineer a transfer to his boyhood club that he has even considered the possibility of exploiting a FIFA rule that allows players to buy out the remainder of their contract.
The problem for Fabregas is that it would cost £28.6million to buy out his £110,000-a-week contract, which has five years still to run.
MORE...
- Fabregas to Barcelona: The definitive timeline
- Chairman Hill-Wood: Arsenal will 'do our damnedest' to stop Cesc leaving
Article 17 of FIFA’s Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players, known as the ‘Webster ruling’, states that a player who signed a deal before the age of 28 can buy himself out of the remainder of the contract three years after the deal was signed.
FABREGAS TRANSFER TIMELINE 
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The 23-year-old is understood to be increasingly anxious about whether his return to Barcelona will go-ahead and has told friends that he is feeling “stressed” and “powerless” as the negotiations between the two clubs becoming increasingly fractious.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is keen for Fabregas to commit to another year at Emirates Stadium but the player is adamant that he wants to return to Spain after the World Cup.
Barca made a bid of £29.2m on Tuesday evening but their first official approach met with a blunt refusal from Arsenal.
Arsenal’s attitude now is that they will only respond to specific offers from Barcelona for Fabregas and will not enter into any negotiations, whether formal or informal.
The Premier League club issued a statement, believed to have been written by Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis, on Wednesday, which was their first since Fabregas informed Wenger that he wanted to leave, and was unusually strongly worded.
"Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is under contract with the club until the summer of 2015," said the statement. "He is a highly valued member of the team and part of our future plans. 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, [on Tuesday 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.
"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."
That, however, is highly unlikely, with Barcelona believing that they have now taken the first step in a process of negotiations.
"We won’t be hasty but nor will we let up," said Barcelona director Rafael Yuste. "The ball is in Arsenal’s court now and as we have an exceptional relationship with them I am optimistic."
MORE...
- Fabregas Snr says Arsenal should respect his son's desire to go to Barca
- Cesc: My Arsenal future? I live day-to-day
There is now pressure on the player to publicly declare his desire to leave or hand in a transfer request, while Barcelona will need to offer far more money to have any chance of clinching a deal.
Fabregas’ good friend Alexander Hleb used the Webster ruling to engineer his own switch from Arsenal to Barca two summers ago.
He made veiled threats to the club and, in the event, a transfer fee was involved but the Belarussian was in a stronger position than Fabregas because he had just one year left to run on his contract.
Become a fan of Goal.com UK's Facebook fan page for all the latest news and insight into everything related to the beautiful game!
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
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