Arsenal were in talks to sign Xabi Alonso from Liverpool in 2009, but failed to meet the asking price of our rivals.
The general reports claim that Liverpool had supposedly wanted £18 Million to allow the Spanish midfielder to leave the club, with us supposedly only will to pay a fee of £15 Million.
Cesc Fabregas now reveals that the future World Cup winner was desperate to join Arsenal so much, that the pair were messaging daily in as they worked to try and find a way to play together at the Emirates.
‘He was dying to come. He was literally begging everyone to go to Arsenal, he really wanted to come. And to be honest, I did my best. I spoke to who I had to speak to. I gave my opinion, I thought that he was a fantastic addition for us at that time,” Fabregas revealed.
“And yeah I have to say that a couple of times like that I was frustrated by the lack of push, the final push – you know what I mean? That it’s so close, the player is dying to come, it’s so easy to make this deal.
‘I am not a director, I see it from a player’s point of view. If it was me, if I wanted to go somewhere like I went to Arsenal, I do my everything to go to Arsenal. And I see that when a player wants to go somewhere, it’s easy. Forget contracts. Okay, sometimes it’s more difficult, if you have a long contract or something, but normally it should happen. And yeah, Xabi Alonso was one of them. I mean I was living it day-to-day because he was texting me all the time.
‘I remember the whole holiday I was talking to him, he was texting me: “What’s happening?” And it was a shame, because I think he would have been a great, great, great addition to that team. He was made for Arsenal, I think.’
Alonso eventually ended up moving to Real Madrid later in the summer, and played a key role in winning the World Cup in 2010, followed by Euro 2012 with Spain, as well as helping his club to win a number of trophies, and earning many personal accolades after this move also.
This must be one of the worst decisions that has been made by the club over the years, and this decision most likely showed Fabregas a lack of ambition at the club to succeed, which eventually saw our club captain push to leave the club.
Would Alonso have helped us challenge the Premier League titles in 2009-10 onwards? Would his arrival have appeased Cesc’s desire to leave?
Patrick
Sounds about right, and we ALL know who worked out the valuations!
TMJW-for once we can agree on something. Alonso, from what I understand was wanted out by Benitez because he had a Gareth Batty lined up to replace him, at around £20m. How typical of Arsenal at the time that we did not make this deal happen.For the sake of £3m we lost a player who WOULD have made a difference, as he did firstly in Madrid and the Bayern Munich.
THE YEAR AND TIME SAYS IT ALL. 2009! A year or soafter KROENKE BOUGHT US. Says it all, nothing else needed. At that time and ever since all our three managers have had no real money available. I feel Wenger should have done far more to stand up to Kroenke for real money to spend. Arsene himself then became comfy in his role and the remorseseless slide from then on is now history. Lack of ambition all round and I HAVE THOUGHT THAT FOR AROUND 12 YEARS NOW AND IT’S CONTINUING STILL.
Agree jon. it’s no coincidence that every month we hear about a new top player that “almost” signed for Arsenal. Why did we end up with Gervinho, Andre Santos, Squillaci and other clowns? Arsenal’s skill in the market was demolished after DD left, and Kroenke was introduced. And I also have the feeling the Emirates budgeting was off too. There are clubs that can build new stadiums and don’t go completely broke and spend pennies for 6+ years.
RSH, Ah! At last , someone who can see where the money went! Oh, I don’t mean the stadium, though of course it cost loads, but that was budgeted for long before Kroenke came in and we have had vastly more money since moving than we ever did at Highbury and guess where it went and who “stole” ” it, albeit within the law; a law by the way that always favours cunning filthy rich capitalists above ordinary helpless folk.
And don’t get the idea that I am some far left wing revolutionary socialist either, who wants to overthrow capitalism,as nothing could be farther from the truth. I am simply a worldly wise man who has spent my life in the arts and business and know a great deal from personal close up experience of how the filthy rich work. And in moral terms, KROENKE has robbed us blind. If you doubt that truth then you have not worked at the sharp end in big business. I HAVE AND I KNOW.