Wenger bitter over Cesc fee

IT has been one of the longest transfer sagas in the history of the game but Arsene Wenger was still left reeling from the sale of Cesc Fabregas yesterday as he believes Arsenal have received a ‘reduced’ £35 million fee for their captain.

Fabregas finally got his wish when he signed a five-year contract with Barcelona and showed what it meant to be back at his boyhood club when he kissed the shirt in front of his adoring public.

Ever since Fabregas signed an eight-year deal with the north London club back in October 2006, there have been endless number of stories linking him with a move back to the Nou Camp.

Arsenal supporters have always feared that one day their influential captain would leave and they are now living up to the reality that one of the greatest ever midfielders to play for the north London club will no longer be putting on the red and white shirt.

Relations between Barcelona and Arsenal during that time have never exactly been amicable and even though a deal has now been struck, you could sense by Wenger’s reaction that he would love to speak his mind over the way they have pursued Fabregas in the last few years.

In an ideal world, the Arsenal manager would have wanted at least £50m for his star midfielder.

Fabregas, just 24, has been with the north London club since he was 16 and had eight memorable years where he emerged as one of the best midfielders to have performed in the Premier League.

With transfer fees spiralling out of control and Cristiano Ronaldo securing an £80m deal to Real Madrid, you can sympathise with Wenger’s anger that the club have not received more money for their talisman.

But the fact remained that Fabregas had his heart set on going back to Barcelona and Wenger could not afford yet another season where his captain was not 100% focused on playing for Arsenal.

Wenger said: “We sold Cesc for a reduced fee. If he was on the market to any club we would have got more money but we did want to get a decent fee. That’s what I’m paid for.

“You cannot say because you want to get the deal done as quickly as possible: ‘Just take him and give us what you want’. You have to fight for your rights.

“What is good is that you call multi-million pound players “cheap”. I don’t know any more.

“If Cesc is for sale and you can make an auction between Real Madrid, Chelsea, Man City, you will certainly get more money but he just wanted to go to Barcelona.

“It’s difficult to know if it is worth the disruption.

“Cesc has given us eight years. It was a pleasure to work with him on a daily basis.

“It was a pleasure to watch him — every day — to play football. And I’m sure it was a pleasure for you as well to watch him to play. So that’s part of life. Maybe he will come back one day to the club, you never know.

“I didn’t know how determined Barcelona was to go to the end of this deal. So I think he was quite clear in his head.”

Fabregas admits he will never forget the impact that Wenger has had on his career and said he was lost for words when he said an emotional farewell to the Arsenal manager last Friday.

Although the Arsenal manager did everything in his power to keep the Spanish international at Emirates Stadium, the pair left on good terms and Fabregas will always owe a great deal of gratitude for the way Wenger made him captain and allowed him to become such a big player in English football.

Fabregas said: “The relationship is fantastic. I spoke to him (Wenger) on Friday to say goodbye and I got very emotional because he’s been like a father-figure to me. I couldn’t even talk at one stage when I wanted to say how grateful I was for what he has done for me.

“I know if it wasn’t for him I would not be here today living my dream. I have to be grateful. I will never have enough words to be able to say what I think about Arsene Wenger. I think if Arsenal want to continue being the club they are, they have to always be under his control because he is the best and everyone respects him. For me he was always the best person I’ve met in football.”