Many Arsenal fans have long held the belief that some clubs are `more equal than others´ in the words of George Orwell. Whereas the Gunners and other English clubs often seem to get the rough end of certain decisions in the Champions League and Europa League competitions, some seem to always seem to get the rub of the green from UEFA officials.
Spain´s La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid definitely seem to be favoured by the European football authorities and now it looks like the world governing body FIFA is getting in on the act. As reported by Sky Sports, Barcelona have just had a boost to their transfer plans with the lifting of the ban on them signing players this summer. Surprised? Neither was I.
However, people seem to think that it will not be an issue as although they can talk to players and sign them, Barca cannot register any new signings to play until January 2016. You might think that they would not want to spend money on a player they were not allowed to play straight away but remember that they signed Luis Suarez with a lengthy ban. That postponement of their transfer ban last summer was pretty handy wasn´t it.
They also signed Thomas Vermaelen from Arsenal with the knowledge that he was carrying an injury problem, so why would they not sign somebody this summer, especially if there was a club like us also interested in the player? A Metro report the other day claimed that Arsene Wenger was hopeful of beating the Catalan club to the German midfielder Lars Bender this summer because of the transfer ban, but that will not be quite as simple now. Thanks FIFA.