Let's talk about Cesc baby...all summer long

The Easter Bunny wrote:Apparently Cesc is asking for a 4 million loyalty payout from Arsenal because he didn't submit a formal transfer request

fcb wrote:You seem to be obsessed with the Qatar deal...you mention it in practically every other post you make

The Easter Bunny wrote:Apparently Cesc is asking for a 4 million loyalty payout from Arsenal because he didn't submit a formal transfer request

Messiah wrote:<iframe width="560" height="349" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hDBLSUKJiDY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

THE JOY OF CESC FINALLY DOING ONE

Considering the sneaky doggedness with which they've pursued him, it was fitting that the soundtrack accompanying the montage of Cesc Fabregas's 'best bits' shown at his unveiling as a Barcelona player was a song about stalking. But whether Every Breath You Take by The Police was chosen by accident or mischievous design was a question that went unaddressed by the presenters on Sky Sports News, who seemed so shocked that the unveiling of a Catalan player at a Catalan club in front of a largely Catalan media might be conducted in a language other than English, they felt compelled to tell us over and over and over again.

"This will predominantly be in Spanish and Catalan," said Bloke On The Left, adding that there would be flash photography and that "plenty of this press conference will be in Castilian Spanish", before reiterating that "plenty of it will be in Catalan". Eager to crush the hopes of any remaining viewers hoping the press conference might be conducted in Cantonese, Klingon or semaphore, Bloke On The Left's co-presenter, Girl On The Right, added: "A lot of this news conference will be in Catalan, but a lot of the newspapers will be hoping some of it will be in Spanish." As far as all things Fabregas were concerned, it was abundantly clear that while one long, tedious saga had just ended in the signing of a five-year deal with a £175m buy-out clause, another was about to begin.

In the end, the usual platitudes were uttered in a variety of tongues, with Sky Sports News feeling the need to further patronise their viewers by pointing out that the voice we could hear while the Barca director and former Spanish goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta was speaking was that of "a translator". Thanks for that. Because the fact that it was also the voice of a woman wasn't enough of a giveaway. When the time came for Fabregas himself to speak, the former Arsenal midfielder stopped getting off with the crest on his new No4 shirt for long enough to say that maybe a couple of years ago he wouldn't have been ready for this, but he is now. "Maybe a couple of years ago I wouldn't have been ready for this, but I am now," he said, before paying homage to his former manager at Arsenal. "[Arsene] Wenger is a special person. He is like a second father for me. He has given me everything in football. I will never have enough words to thank what he has done for me. There is a bad image of him here [in Spain] - but that's not true. If it was not for him I would not be here today to live my dream."

It's equally accurate to say that if it was not for Wenger the Fiver would not be here today to live our dream either; a comforting, happy dream of life in a football world bereft of tedious daily speculation concerning the likelihood of Fabregas being sold to Barcelona. So it seems only fair to give Wenger a platform on a day that shall forever be known succinctly and pithily as The Day Cesc Fabregas Finally Moved From Arsenal To Barcelona, Unlike All Those Other Days When We Hoped He Might Only For Him To Stay At Arsenal. "We lost a world class player," said Wenger, but not in Catalan, Spanish, Castilian Spanish or through the medium of interpretive dance. "We are sad about it, we did try to keep him. This club is 125 years old this season and many big players have left and the club went on." As did the saga of Cesc's return to his boyhood club. And the future for Arsenal fans? They can't, they can't, they can't stand losing ... they can't, they can't, they can't stand losing ... they can't, they can't, they can't stand losing, but with Samir Nasri due out the door next, they might need to start getting used to it.

fcb wrote:I don't get this big player presentation deal that Barça and Madrid do. Oh look, we spent 50m euros on this guy, and yes, he actually can do more than 5 keepie-uppies. Ronaldo's presentation for Madrid was on a whole new scale of ridiculousness...but then I guess we could have expected that.

Deluded F*ck™ wrote:The Michael Owen to Newcastle one was surely the worst.

christmasborocooper wrote:

Deluded F*ck™ wrote:The Michael Owen to Newcastle one was surely the worst.

That was a strange one..but even then, at least they didnt play Every Breath You Take!!

S4P wrote:I don't think it's only Barcelona who have been "sneaky" in all of this. I'm genuinely surprised that Arsenal fans have been so calm about the fact that their captain effectively went on strike to ensure the move.