Fabregas was no doubt put under pressure to remain at the Emirates by his 'second father' Arsene Wenger - and his relationship with Gunners' fans - though that pressure can scarcely have been greater than the emotional tidal wave of urgings from Camp Nou to abandon the Emirates and rejoin the Spanish champions.
Although on Friday Fabregas finally committed himself 'for the foreseeable future' to Arsenal, it has immediately been interpreted, especially at Barcelona, as 'just one more year', despite the fact that his Arsenal contract runs until 2015.
So if 2010-11 is to be his last season as a Gunner, how will it pan out? Will he skipper the club to a trophy before leaving on a high, or cut a distracted and forlorn figure whose head and heart are in Spain, and see his market value fall to a level closer to what financially-strapped Barca are prepared to pay?
There are others before him who have pledged themselves to one more year at their clubs, with decidely mixed results...
Patrick Vieira - Arsenal, 2004-05A predecessor of Fabregas as Arsenal captain, Vieira was shamelessly courted by Real Madrid for consecutive summers; but after leading the unbeaten Gunners to Premier League glory in 2003-04, when he was at his imperious best, he opted to stay at the north London club.
In that next season, his form was deemed to have dipped - although what proved to be his last kick as a Gunner did bury the penalty that defeated Manchester United in Cardiff and enabled him to hoist the FA Cup.
And there was a certain irony when Wenger decided, in summer 2005, to offload the combative midfielder. Vieira was somewhat surprised to find himself suddenly surplus to requirements. Real Madrid were no longer that interested, so he returned to Serie A where, despite winning consecutive titles with Juventus and then Inter, he never recaptured the highs he'd commanded at Arsenal.
Ashley Cole - Arsenal, 2005-06A hugely successful product of the Arsenal academy, Cole's relationship with the Gunners had seemed solid until revelations of his having attended clandestine meetings with Chelsea about a possible move emerged.
Cole and Chelsea were subsequently fined for their respective roles in the tapping-up scandal, and the left-back's relationship with Arsenal and their fans was irreparably damaged.
He signed a new contract, but spent much of 2005-06 on the treatment table and, with Gael Clichy having emerged in his absence, and some shabby carping in his autobiography, what proved to be his last season at Arsenal before he headed off for Chelsea was an unedifying experience all round. 
Having taken the armband from the departing Vieira, Arsenal's all-time leading scorer captained the Gunners in the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona, the club he was widely tipped to join that summer.
But he chose to give Arsenal one more season, their first at the Emirates. It proved to be a frustrating one for all concerned. Blighted by injury, when he was fit to play he often looked exasperated and out of step with his young team-mates, who in turn appeared inhibited by the icon's presence.
It made his eventuual move to Barca, in summer 2007, much easier for Gunners fans to bear than had seemed likely a year earlier.
Emmanuel Adebayor - Arsenal, 2008-09The Togo striker was beneficiary-in-chief of Henry's Arsenal exit, scoring 30 goals as the Gunners threatened (but ultimately failed) to win the title in 2007-08.
However, the limelight seemed to go to Adebayor's head, and he spent much of the 2008 summer flirting publicly with AC Milan and Barcelona. Arsenal offered him significantly enhanced terms to stay, but he'd squandered his goodwill with the fans, and his final season as a Gunner was an anti-climax laced with vitriol from the terraces.
The bitterness came to a head when, now at Manchester City, he celebrated scoring against Arsenal with infamous zeal.
After his sensational 2007-08 season at United, when he scored a remarkable 42 goals from the wing, Ronaldo expressed an interest in moving to Real Madrid if they offered him the same terms they'd allegedly tempted him with earlier that year.
United complained about Real's pursuit of their player, and in August 2008 Ronaldo confirmed he would stay at Old Trafford for at least another year, before fulfilling his 'dream move' to the Bernabeu.
That final season as a Red Devil was another momentous one: he won the Ballon d'Or, was named Fifa World Player of the Year, collected a third consecutive Premier League winners' medal, appeared in his second successive Champions League final and scored another 26 goals in 53 appearances before joining Real with Sir Alex Ferguson's blessing.
Steve McManaman - Liverpool, 1998-99A decade earlier, Real Madrid were the object of another Premier League star's affections. Named Liverpool captain at the start of the 1998-99 season, McManaman revealed his desire to play abroad.
In January 1999 his agent announced that he was about to fly to Spain, and by the end of the month McManaman had passed a medical and signed an official pre-contract with Madrid.
The decision angered many Liverpool fans, who believed McManaman had waited until he was sure Real Madrid would sign him on a lucrative deal. It was the end of a beautiful friendship: he still had five months left on his Liverpool contract and in his final games for the club his form dipped through a combination of injury, manager Gerard Houllier's selections as he tried to reduce the team's reliance on McManaman, and the player's loss of confidence as sections of the home fans turned against him, calling him 'traitor' and 'Judas'.
The manner of Alonso's departure from Anfield was markedly different. Happy at Liverpool and highly influential in the Reds' midfield, he'd been treated as entirely expendable by Rafael Benitez in the summer of 2008 as the manager publicly pursued Aston Villa's Gareth Barry.
In the event, neither player moved that summer; but Alonso had lost confidence in Rafa and, despite an excellent relationship with the Kop, decided his future lay away from Liverpool.
Underlining the folly of having tried to offload him, Alonso proceeded to produce his best season on the pitch for the Reds, who narrowly missed out on that elusive 19th domestic championship title. But it was his swan-song: he handed in a transfer request and needed no second thoughts when Real Madrid came in for him in July 2009.
Gareth Barry - Aston Villa, 2008-09As captain and longest-serving player at Villa Park, Barry became the subject, in May 2008, of a series of bids from Liverpool boss Benitez. All were rejected by Aston Villa, prompting Barry to publicly criticise his manager, Martin O'Neill, accusing him of making no attempt to keep him at the club, and stating his desire to join Liverpool in order to play Champions League football.
The midfielder was officially disciplined by Villa, who then rejected another bid from Anfield of around £15 million as falling short of their £18m valuation. O'Neill stripped Barry of the club captaincy, but the player remained at Villa for one more season.
He was later restored as skipper as Villa made a determined bid to break into the top four. He made 48 appearances in all competitions, his highest seasonal tally for the club, scoring eight goals, only one fewer than his best return as a Villan. But in June 2009 he signed a five-year contract with Manchester City for a fee of £12m, despite their non-involvement in the Champions League.
The striker was forging a strong reputation at West Ham but was unable to prevent them from being relegated at the end of the 2002-03 season. Within 24 hours of their demotion being confirmed, Defoe handed in a written transfer request. Its timing brought criticism from both fans and team-mates and was rejected by the club.
He later apologised to supporters, saying: "I mishandled that move and I can only apologise. I'm young and I've learned from it. I still played my hardest for West Ham and gave them 100 per cent and want to thank the fans for their support."
But although starting the 2003–04 season as a Hammer, he refused to sign a new contract and seemed distracted as three red cards saw him play only 22 of a possible 34 games, prompting West Ham to accept an offer from Tottenham for him in the January transfer window.
Michael Owen - Newcastle United, 2008-09Newcastle's record signing in August 2005, Owen's career on Tyneside had been blighted by injury, and he made just 71 league appearances for the Magpies in four seasons, the last of his contract being the 2008-09 campaign.
Kevin Keegan had made him club captain in January 2008, but in December of that year, Owen rejected a new offer from Newcastle, saying he would postpone talks about his contract situation until the end of the season.
It was a disastrous one for the Toon, who were relegated from the Premier League for the first time in 15 years. At the end of it Owen confirmed he would not be re-signing for Newcastle, preferring a move to a Premier League club, or other top-flight foreign side. In July 2009, he signed for Manchester United on a free transfer.
No comments:
Post a Comment