Barca are preparing a summer bid for the Arsenal midfielder which is a no brainer but the shocker is that Jose Mourinho has also reportedly jumped in the fray with a £35m bid.
No matter both clubs are deep in debt having borrowed millions of euros in soft loans to pay for their megawatt stars. It became an election issue at Barca which brought Sandro Rosell to power after it was found Joan Laporta, his predecessor used some creative accounting to hide the true extent of debt. In Madrid, the pressure to repay some of those loans is growing because lets face it, Spain is widely expected to be next on the chopping block of failed economies. There is increasing pressure on the government to do away with the attractive tax rates that are used as bait to lure players to the Liga because of the lost revenues.
So there are stories of how the number 4 jersey that Pep Guardiola wore is being kept in safekeeping in a secret crypt for the return of Fabregas. But because Mourinho abhors feel good stories involving Barca, he is determined to spoil it by spiriting Fabregas away.
Didn’t we go through this tiresome song and dance not so long ago? It’s sort of laughable when you think of Mourinho forming this Fabregas-Xabi Alonso axis to build his team around. Wasn’t that actually supposed to be the Kaka- Xabi Alonso or the Ronaldo- Xabi Alonso axes a year ago? What’s even funnier is that both clubs are doing fabulously well in the Liga and it’s looking increasingly likely that it will be an all Spanish Champions League final but they’ve decided their season needs this distraction when it is just about halfway over. Nice touch.
This story is entirely generated by a navel gazing media. The boardrooms are far more pre-occupied by how best to negotiate FIFA’s fair play rules. Which renders juicy transfer stories rarer with each coming season and smaller hordes for such fare. But the rags have not yet got it – Fabregas is a rich story worthy of milking over and over till reality sinks in. And Arsenal will not fold over – winning the Premiership is a supposed pre-requisite for Fabregas staying at the Emirates. So far, the Gunners are doing the two step on the pitch. Economically, they’re the club of the future. Barca and Real with their present balance sheets are not.
Disclaimer: It is The Daily Mail, that fount of journalistic veracity, home of Martin Samuel and Graham Poll. Plus a whole lot of Spanish rags. So take with a pinch of salt.