Early indications are suggesting that the situation regarding the future of Cesc Fabregas is likely to rival Cristiano Ronaldo’s flirtation with Real Madrid last summer as the most tedious and predictable transfer saga of recent times. Several sources are claiming that the Spanish champions are closing in on a deal to sign the 23-year-old, with speculation intensifying after the player claimed last week that “I think I would like to go to Barca but whether I stay or not is another matter.”
Since making his debut for Arsenal as a 16-year-old back in 2003, Fabregas has been nothing short of a revelation, developing into one of the world’s finest midfielders. At 23, the Spaniard has made an astonishing 267 senior appearances for the club, consistently displaying maturity beyond his tender years. Since the departures of Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry, Fabregas’ importance to the side has escalated, with his talismanic displays leading to him being made club captain in November 2008. Of late Fabregas’ brilliance has almost single-handedly carried Arsenal at times, further drawing admiring glances from those watching in Catalonia. It appears that Fabregas’ eventual switch to the Camp Nou is but a foregone conclusion, but does he owe more to the club that gave him his big break in the game?
Whilst Fabregas has been very good for the club, it is arguable that the club have been just as good to him. Under the tutelage and guidance of Arsene Wenger, Fabregas has fulfilled his childhood potential to turn into one of the world’s best midfielders. The Spaniard was thrust into the first-team consistently at a very young age, allowing him the chance to develop through frequent exposure to top-level football. Following the high-profile departure of Patrick Vieira to Juventus in 2005, Wenger chose the then 18-year-old as the man to replace the Frenchman as first-choice central midfielder, opting to place his faith in youth instead of purchasing a more experienced and proven replacement. How many other clubs or managers would have done this? Would Fabregas have developed at such a speedy rate had he not been afforded such consistent first-team football at such a young age? After all, Fabregas had left Barcelona in the first place due to doubts over his ability to break into the first-team at the Camp Nou; Wenger took a gamble on the then-unknown Spaniard and gave him an opportunity, an opportunity that the Spaniard grabbed with both hands.
Cynicism aside, club loyalty is an increasingly rare commodity in today’s game, and the case of Fabregas is not exempt from this sentiment. Although contracted to the club until 2014, some would suggest that Fabregas has already shown considerable loyalty to Arsenal, having resisted the overtures of several suitors over the past few summers. The hierarchy at the club have a sense of loyalty to the player in that they need to demonstrate to him signs of ambition and improvement; if they can’t do this, no-one can blame Fabregas for wanting to join a side that will fulfil his ambitions. In addition to this, the loyalty that the club have shown to the player would surely be repaid by the transfer fee they would raise from his sale. Fabregas was brought to the club for next to nothing and is likely command a fee of at least £40 million upon his sale, thus representing a substantial profit on the player.
Unfortunately for Gunners fans, the inevitable transfer of Fabregas from Arsenal to the Blaugrana seems to be a pre-determined certainty. The Catalonia-born midfielder, a childhood Barcelona fan, famously attended his first match at the Camp Nou as a nine-month-old baby with his grandfather. Having given sweat, blood and tears for the Emirates side over the last seven years, no-one can begrudge Fabregas for opting to play with better players, in a better team, at a bigger club, in the country of his birth.
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