by Billy “the dog” McGraw
There is something rather odd, and indeed rather quaint, in the notion that Arsenal would sell one of their best players for £25m – a fraction of his value – and that the player would transfer to a club that apparently seems to be offering him a lower salary than that which he has just agreed in a new contract at Arsenal.
But this is the story doing the rounds in relation to our Héctor.
It is based on the notion, perpetrated in the English and Barcelona media, that Arsenal is weak, and Barcelona is strong. And yet in reality the absolute opposite is the truth.
It is a story based around the fact that those wishing to believe the story will actually ignore Héctor Bellerín’s own official Twitter account in which he wrote “Don’t believe everything you read…” That when he posts a tweet saying that he is not seeking a move that can be re-interpreted as “he is not seeking it but he is not averse to it and would accept it.”
In fact it is a story that is based totally on the concept that readers will believe what they want to believe, irrespective of reality.
The notion that Héctor has just bought a new mansion in Barcelona for his family. That his agent has been spotted consorting with the President of Barcelona. And that above all, Arsenal have no say in the future of a player whose contract they have so recently renewed.
And above all else that in a world in which last summer there were transfer rumours that EVERY SINGLE MEMBER of the Arsenal “25” and some youth players were ALL leaving Arsenal, which actually turned out not to be true, that somehow this idea, this time, is true…
To be clear and straightforward Héctor Bellerín jointed Arsenal in 2011 when Barcelona clearly didn’t want him. He was offered a new contract last year, which extends his period at Arsenal until 2023. In such circumstances are Arsenal actually likely to let him go for any sum short of £125m and probably not then?
In one sense the story has its origins in the days of Arsenal’s austerity when, because of the stadium’s cost, the salary structure had to be kept under control. Those days are long since gone. Arsenal now has the biggest match day income of any club in the Premier League, and its marketing income grows year on year.
So yes we can see Barcelona would like him back – in order to cover up the chaotic state of their academy dealings, tax corruption scandals, and youth scandals in which young players of enormous talent are allowed to leave. And to keep up the myth that if Barcelona says they want someone, they automatically get what they want. And to hide the tarnished image of a once grand and proud club.
And yet the tale constantly forgets that Barcelona were banned from transfers for child trafficking: an utterly shocking ignominy that they have written out of their history with mutterings about “one day the truth will be told”, the endless cry of the infamous and guilty.
Of course Barcelona would like to have Héctor Bellerín back. He’s a massively talented player who is brilliantly built for the wing back system because of his speed, and getting him back would cover up their own internal chaos that allowed him to go, while continuing the myth that all is all right with Barcelona.
But the truth it, things are far from all right. The club that once said the shirt was sacred and could not be sold, sold themselves out to one of the most nasty little countries on the planet – a place so awful that even Saudi Arabia of all countries has had enough of them and has cut off their supply of food.
But it all raises the question: if this is all fantasy how come Barcelona are offering something as paltry as 25 million euros? Why not 100 million, and continue the myth that Barcelona has all the money that it needs?
This is where Barcelona have the problem – because they let him go for nothing. And to spend a fortune getting him back, even if they had the money which they don’t, would suggest that they did make the most gigantic cock up of all time. So they have to offer a little, suggest to a willing audience that somehow Arsenal is the culprit, the idiot, the useless club, and then hope everyone forgets. And let us not forget (and if you read some of the comments we get on Untold you can’t forget it) some believe really do believe in the tale of Arsenal incompetence.
Barcelona is playing the same game with Ander Herrera: they make the offer and then when the deal to buy him from Man U fails they speak of dark forces at play. How can poor little Barcelona get players in a world of Dark Forces? It’s not their fault. We should feel sorry for them! Like f*** we should.
You must know that many people who claim to be Arsenal fans say that three FA Cup triumphs in four years, and beating Man City and Chelsea at Wembley does not mean anything at all, well in Spain coming runners’ up to Real Mad is nothing to Barcelona fans. And with their sponsor looking anything but secure, they need a distraction more than anything. So they start winning Champions League with some of the most bizarre refereeing decisions ever seen… and they just say “oh people are jealous.” Just watch some of those dubious games, and think again.
Hence Héctor Bellerín. But Héctor, I am sure you know, it is nothing personal. It’s just the old war machine has run off the road and is rumbling about in the ditch. It ain’t your fault. You know we love you and you certainly know you are much better off with us than with that bunch of crooks.
Recently on Untold
- Tax fraud, perjury, court cases and uppity multi-millionaires. It’s just another day for Real Mad.
- Unbelievable transfer news coming from Arsenal. Surely this can’t be happening to our club!
- Who was our most successful passer of the ball, who got most yellow cards, played most minutes, and got most assists
Another good article, shame you don’t write more 😛
must be hard.
psychological post that demonstrate truth on one end and helplessness, cowardness, and hate on the other end. trying to overshadow the success of a club of course i can understand that because of your situation(helpless). like you dont know why release clauses are put into players contract. making big decisions have both possibilities of positive and negative consequences. you want to say all who go to barca fails. shame on—to cite on only negative consequences.how many players are leaving from one dear club to another and fail ? th answer is many. the same to those who succeeds. ths life. its one thing to be loyal and its another thing to chase your dreams. any one get stuck between the two. let him weigh the two as he will inside his heart that you and i cant reach. fans sometime pretend to own players and clubs. no way they are people like you and you wont like someone to own your decisions. barca hv made mistakes but it doesnt mean thy hv always been making mistakes. in 10 Yyears there is no succesful club like barca. accept the truth and put your desires on table not your helplessness. lets have fun when barca or arsenal does well on field . we human being are so fun we dont use our brain for good.
Barca, like certain countries in the Euro, are just too big to be allowed to fail.
They will continue to have the media on there side, especially the British media, and will continue to get official favours, both on and off the pitch, until the storm has past.
Barca are just another football cash cow far far too important to be allowed to fail, no matter how corrupt, dishonest or damn right immoral they are.
Barca are not just another football club in Spain , rather they are the forefront and joy and symbol of Catalonian pride.
They simply cannot fail .
Didn’t Bellerin come as a makeweight in the deal that took Fabregas to Barcelona? Delicious irony.
Unfortunately, most of the ignorant public see Barcelona as a team built on morals and one that should be applauded for the way in which they conduct themselves. In the media, we never hear of the way that PSG were robbed in that match, but rather, how unbelievably amazing Barcelona were for overcoming that score-line. Sure, there were a few rumblings about it in the days following the match, but since then, that has been completely “forgotten” and the match is now just another example of what an extraordinary team Barcelona are.
It seem that it matters not, however many times their true face is revealed; Barcelona’s image will always remain pristine in the eyes of the media and therefor the public.
insideright, I believe it was a separate deal where Toral and Bellerin joined us at the same time.
Although HB was highly thought of, it was Toral who appeared to be the real future star…
I love the suggestion in the media that by buying a place in Barcelona he’s somehow going to move permanently there soon.
He’s obviously close to his parents but when they still lived here, he enjoyed the benefits of having his own place here, where he doesn’t get his mum complaining about the loud noises coming from the ‘Wannabe WAGS’ in his room (amongst other benefits).
Funnily they also have ‘Wannabe WAGS’ is Spain, so when he visits his parents (who are back in Barcelona now), why would he want to stay with them???
😀
You forgot Alexander Song, whose career(or non-career) has now taken him to the backwaters of the Russian league after Barcelona.