Forget Cesc, Messi is coming

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by Walter Broeckx

So here we go again. Cesc has hardly put one foot on Spanish soil and the Spanish media are all over him again with all kind of stories about his move to Barcelona.

Now to understand how things work we must know that in Spain you have newspapers that are almost from the first to the last letter all about football and sports. Those newspapers are fighting a struggle with each other and have to come up with the best headlines possible. Some of the most important ones are Marca and El Mundo and Diario Sport.

You can imagine that a headline: “Cesc stays at Arsenal” does not sell many newspapers in Spain or in Barcelona. What could sell you more newspapers is a headline: ‘Cesc on his way to Spain”. The average Spanish sports fan would buy the paper to see that it possible only says that Cesc is coming in with the plane to join the national team. But the main thing would be that they have sold a newspaper.

You can imagine a headline: “Cesc is on his way to Barcelona” will sell you many newspapers, especially in the neighbourhood of Barcelona. Again when you read the article could find in it that Cesc is on his way to join the Spanish national team and that he is flying in from London to Barcelona to meet his family. But the main thing would be that they have sold a lot of newspapers.

Now imagine for a second that you are another Spanish sports newspaper and you have to make sure that you sell also a lot of newspapers. What would you do? Well you could invent “friends” of Cesc. Or you could invent “family” of Cesc. And you could invent that they have said that “Cesc is coming to Barcelona and that he has agreed a 4 year deal”. Now how about that. I think this will sell a lot of newspapers in Spain.

Now what the Spanish newspapers invent to sell newspapers is one thing. The thing that is frightening is that many bloggers and even main media take this up and reprint it as the truth and nothing but the truth. Even if you have only one brain cell working properly you must take everything that is printed in those Spanish newspapers not with a pinch of salt but with a whole mountain of salt.

Unfortunately some people don’t even have that one brain cell properly working and they believe what is written in those newspapers or should I say tabloids because that is what they are in fact. And so we have the whole summer once again with the same old stories over and over again. I can bet for a few pounds that let us say in 2 weeks time there will be a newspaper or a blog that runs the story all over again and again the same blogs will bring it as new and hot news and declare that Cesc now really will be leaving and that we are doomed and that all is lost.

I think sometimes it must be tiring when you are Cesc Fabregas. Every word you say will be misquoted whenever they can and will be pulled out of the context just to make new headlines.

By the way, the story that Cesc has agreed a 4 year contract with Barcelona and now the only thing in the way is a transfer agreement between Arsenal and Barcelona would mean that Barcelona, Cesc and his manager all would have broken the rules. Cesc is still under a contract with Arsenal and Arsenal and Arsène Wenger have on many occasion stated that there are only 3 players allowed to leave this summer and that are: Campbell, Gallas and Silvestre because they are the only one who are at the end of their contract.

I think this was clear enough or should be clear enough for everyone that Arsenal will not allow anyone to even talk to Cesc, let alone let him sign a contract.

So I would just ask to the Arsenal bloggers out there: please don’t fall in the trap from the Spanish media. If they want to spread lies and rumours just let them. If the media in England want to step into the trap set up by the Spanish press and reprint these story there is nothing that can be done about it, but we can be smarter and laugh it away.

To finish up I would just like to add one little story that I heard today from a friend of mine who has been living in Spain the last couple of years. He heard from his cleaning lady who knows someone who is living near the home of Messi that they have seen a car with a French plate driving slowly by and in that car there was a person who looked like Arsène Wenger and who asked they way to Messi’s home.

In his car was a document clearly visible on official Arsenal paper with the words “contract” on it. According to this source it said something like 10 years and had clearly the name of Messi on it.

So what do you make of that? If the Cesc thing would be the truth, maybe it could mean that Wenger has asked Barcelona to swap a Cesc for a Messi.

Don’t believe this? Then why believe the story of the friends from Cesc thing? I can make it up just like they do. Or maybe I do know someone who knows someone who knows Messi? Nothing is easier spread than a lie. Remember this until the next season starts and we will see our captain back in our red and white leading us to victory.

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