Arshavin talks about failed Barcelona transfer

Arsenal attacker and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) has said in an interview with British tabloid The Daily Mail that, despite an offer by Barcelona last summer and despite being a Barcelona fan, it in the end is probably best he didn't join the club:

"I did have an offer from Barcelona but Zenit were not happy. I try not to think about what could have happened and at least at Arsenal I am playing. At Barcelona I think I would be sitting on the bench, like Aleksandr Hleb.

Which player could I replace? Thierry Henry? No, he is too good and I think Messi will be the World Player of the Year. If I could vote it would be for Messi. Even if you just count the goals and the beautiful passes and look at it statistically, Messi would win over Ronaldo. It has been close but Messi has been better. So where would I play at Barcelona?

Last season, once I knew I was leaving St Petersburg, the choice was always England or Spain, never Italy. I think the English league right now is the best league there has ever been, whereas in Italy it is very defensive, very closed football. I do not like it. I enjoy the honesty of English football, because nobody gives up, and almost all the best players are here. Italian football is at the bottom because of all those scandals. Their league is not very interesting.

I love Barcelona for the same reasons I love Arsenal. It is as if they do not even think of the result, they just want to play and score and if they lose, OK, then they will go out and do it again and win next time. At Arsenal, all we think about is how to attack, how to score, how to dribble, how to make a pass. We do not think so much about defence. Probably, for results, this is no good: but I like it.

That is why I hope Barcelona beat Manchester United in the Champions League final. United look very solid but they play like machines, whereas Barcelona are dreamers, they are more creative. Sometimes United kill everything and I like Barcelona's football more."

Read more:
Barcelona still interested in Arshavin
Arshavin repeats Barcelona is his favourite club
Barcelona could make a new move for Arshavin

Case closed: Arshavin

Zenit Saint Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) will not play for Barcelona in the future, like had been rumoured over the last months (read more here).

Arsenal has yesterday officially announced the transfer of Arshavin: "Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that Russian international midfielder, Andrey Arshavin has joined the Gunners from Zenit St. Petersburg on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee."

Zenit has confirmed the transfer on their official website. The Russian player, for whom Arsenal is believed to have paid a little 19 million euro°, would have signed a contract for the next two-and-a-half years.

pep's opinion:
a real pity that we weren't able to push this deal through. a quality player, a confessed culé, hungry to play in a top league. hleb still at arsenal and arshavin with us: it wouldn't have cost us more and we would have been less messi-dependent.

Read more:
Arshavin repeats Barcelona is his favourite club
Case closed: Pavlyuchenko
Barcelona wanted Arshavin as a substitute

Arshavin repeats Barcelona is his favourite club

Asked about the rumours that linked him earlier this year with a move to Barcelona (read more here), Zenit Saint Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) has said in an interview with Spanish football weekly paper Don Balón that Barcelona is his preferred destination:

"I still want to go and play abroad. I would like to play in Spain or England. Barça is my favourite club. My childhood idols were Stoichkov, Romario and later on Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. All played for Barcelona, the club I was fan of. I loved their playing style. In England, I first liked Manchester United but now I like Chelsea more."

Read more:
Arshavin agent invites Barcelona to move
Barcelona wanted Cesc and Arshavin was close
Barcelona could make a new move for Arshavin

Spain possible January destination for Arshavin

Asked about the continuous rumours linking Zenit Saint Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) with several European top clubs among which Barcelona (read more here), the player's agent Dennis Lachter has said in an interview with football site Goal that his destination will be one of the three top leagues in Europe:

"We have not verified the situation just yet, but we know that there are several clubs in Spain, England and Italy who are all interested in Arshavin. I don't want to comment on which clubs are interested because there has been plenty of speculation regarding the situation.

It will be clearer in around a few weeks when the Champions League and UEFA Cup takes a break, and it will be much easier to understand where he will be going. The final match for Zenit in the Champions League could be his final accord with the club and this is significant for Andrei. He has won two titles in Europe as well as bronze in the Euros.

The key leagues for the player are the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga. I don't think it's right to comment about whether he will go. I don't think it's the right way to promote the player by speculating about where he could end up, but we will have a clearer idea around the middle of December when the interested clubs decide to come forward if they are serious."

Read more:
Arshavin agent invites Barcelona to move
Barcelona wanted Cesc and Arshavin was close
Barcelona could make a new move for Arshavin

Barcelona wanted Cesc and Arshavin was close

Asked about the rumours saying that Barcelona would have tried to sign Arsenal midfielder and Spanish international Cesc Fàbregas (21) during the summer transfer window (read more here), former Barcelona sports vice president Marc Ingla, who left the club in july (read more here), has confirmed in an interview with Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio that Barcelona wanted the Catalan player to return:

"We went there trying to sign Cesc, but Arsenal manager Wenger wanted him as the leader of his project so it appeared to be impossible. It would have been a very expensive transfer and the player also feels very good in London. I also want to make clear that we never offered them to give Xavi in exchange.

We also talked with several centre forwards but we couldn't find an agreement with any of them. The transfer of Arshavin on the other hand was very close but then Zenit blew up the deal by suddenly asking 30 million euro°."

Read more:
Barcelona wanted Cesc-Hleb package deal
Cesc dreams of Barcelona return
Barcelona preparing January bid for Cesc

Barcelona amongst preferred clubs of Timoshchuk

Asked whether he would leave his club in January, Zenit Saint Petersburg defensive midfielder and Ukrainian international Anatoli Timoshchuk (29) has suggested to journalists that he could join another team during the winter transfer window, with Barcelona being one of his preferred destinations:

"If Zenit wants to keep a player in the squad, they need to hold talks with him. The player should be happy in his club, so if that's not the case, they should lt him go and give his a chance to progress as he wants.

I don't hint at any concrete person, because it applies to every player. If he decided to quit, the price for him should be equivalent to his level. But if he stays being unsatisfied with his career, he won't be helpful to his team.

As for me, I have decided my future a long time ago, but I won't tell about it for now. When definite steps are taken by me, by other clubs or by our club, when the transfer window opens, then I will discuss it. Today I am a Zenit player, I don't feel any discomfort and I play with great pleasure. I don't think about the opening of the transfer window now, because I am concentrated on the next matches. We must win all of them, if we want to achieve positive results.

Zenit didn't offer me a new contract yet. In the summer I talked with the Zenit managers, but we had little time for negotiations. We had two or three days before the closure of transfer window, and they didn’t want to hold talks in such short period of time.

I have a favourite team in all of the big European leagues. And speaking hypothetically, you would want to go to a club which you like. In Germany it's Bayern Munich, in Italy Juventus, in Spain Barcelona, and in England Manchester United. So in my dreams I would like to find myself in that club which I like most of all."

Read more:
Arshavin agent invites Barcelona to move
Arsenal preparing new bid for Toure
Pavlyuchenko again an option as centre forward

Arshavin agent invites Barcelona to move

Asked about the new rumours linking Zenit Saint Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) with a move to Barcelona (read more here), the player's agent Dennis Lachter has said in an interview with Catalan radio station COM Ràdio that Barcelona hasn't yet called him:

"We have already several proposals on the table but no Barcelona official has contacted me until this day. Arshavin has already declared that he wants to leave Zenit. The team that wants him just has to make us an offer and then we can start negotiating.

At this moment Barcelona is playing great, so you should ask Guardiola, Txiki or Laporta if they're interested in Andrei. Tell Guardiola that he calls me or that they give me the number of Guardiola, Txiki or Laporta. Time will tell what can happen."

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that, despite the club not planning any transfers this winter (read more here), Barcelona could consider to make a bid for Arshavin if Zenit would seriously drop the asking price. Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola, who likes the Russian player, has been following Arshavin closely over the last months.

Read more:

Di Maria and Arshavin will be monitored

Barcelona wanted Arshavin as a substitute

Barcelona could make a new move for Arshavin

Barcelona could make a new move for Arshavin

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona could make another attempt to sign Zenit Saint Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) when the next transfer period opens in January (read more here).

Both Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristian and Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola would be convinced by Arshavin's qualities and the Russian player could be on the market during the winter transfer window.

Asked about a possible move for Arshavin, Guardiola said yesterday at a press conference that the decision on whether or not to sign players in january isn't taken yet: "It's an excellent player, but I'm now focusing on the squad we have. That's how things are now. When the winter market opens, we will look at the situation and make a decision if anything has to change. But it's indeed a great player."

Asked about the new rumours linking him with several European top clubs, Arshavin said to journalists that the first condition for an exit is a lowering of the asking price: "At the moment these are only rumours. And it is useless to comment on them. We should understand one simple thing: the most important thing now is not the interest of whatever team but whether the club agrees to let me go.

I have shared my position on the point. It is quite clear that at the moment nobody is going to buy Arshavin for 25 million euro°, so the problem is the reasonable price. When the price is set we can talk about a possible transfer and also about my personal preferences."

Read more:

Arshavin waiting for a call from Barcelona
Arshavin confirms Barcelona offer

Barcelona wanted Arshavin as a substitute

Barcelona wanted Arshavin as a substitute

Asked about the transfer soap opera regarding to Zenit Saint Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) this summer, Zenit general director Maxim Mitrofanov has said in an interview with Russian sports paper Sport-Express that Barcelona didn't want to spend big on the Russian attacker because they didn't see him as a first-choice player:

"As you remember, Zenit allegedly got offers from Arsenal, Chelsea and many other clubs. But the first offer came from Barcelona as saying they wanted to buy Arshavin for 15 million euro°. After that we started negotiations with the Catalan club and brought out our position according to the matter, that we were not going to sell our leading player for this sum of money.

The Spanish camp representatives were honest with us and said they wanted to acquire Arshavin as a player who would come as a substitution. However they were not ready to pay 20-25 million euro° for Andrei Arshavin, and as a result Barcelona acquired Alexandr Hleb.

We also considered Tottenham offer. The Spurs sporting director came to Saint-Petersburg to hold talks with Arshavin. He told about the team, its main targets. Then Totenham sent an official 16 million euro offer to Zenit, as they were going to pay this sum during four years. This deal was unacceptable for us.

From supporters’ point of view many of them think that Arshavin should switch to a foreign club, but majority of them are convinced he should play in Zenit forever. However it’s wrong to see the situation from this angle. They need to understand that club has its own goals and targets, the player earns money in the club and we do everything to make our players’ life comfortable.

Arshavin’s contract is one of the best in Russian Premier League, so we didn’t review his contract conditions this summer. Andrei wanted to leave, but Zenit made no attempts to improve his contract with the club."

Read more:
Arshavin confirms Barcelona offer
Di Maria and Arshavin will be monitored
Arshavin didn't convince Guardiola

Arshavin didn't convince Guardiola

Barcelona site Pelikano claims that the transfer of Zenit Saint-Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) didn't go through because Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola wasn't convinced of the qualities of the player.

Besides that, Metallurg Donetsk vice president Dimitri Sellyuk, the agent of Barcelona player Yaya Touré who acted as intermediary (read more here), would have tried to arrange an agreement with former Barcelona player and manager Johan Cruijff without fully informing Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain.


Read more:

Arshavin confirms Barcelona offer

Five players on left wing short list

Final offensive for Arshavin

Di Maria and Arshavin will be monitored

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona will be closely monitoring the situation of Benfica left winger and Argentinian international Angel Di María (20 - picture, on the right) and Zenit Saint-Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27).

Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola is aware that his squad lacks a left winger and if he cannot solve this problem with the current players, Barcelona will probably sign a player for that position during the January transfer window.

That's the reason why Barcelona will follow the performances of Di María, who would have the advantage that he will still be able to participate in the Champions League next year, and Arshavin over the coming months. Boca Juniors forward and Argentinian international Rodrigo Palacio (26) would be a third option.

Read more:

Barcelona interested in Di Maria

Five players on left wing short list

Arshavin confirms Barcelona offer

Ribery was on top of Guardiola's wish list

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Bayern Munich wing attacker and French international Franck Ribéry (25) was on top of the wish list of Barcelona managr josep guardiola to replace Ronaldinho as left wing attacker.

Barcelona sounded out Bayern officials who were nevertheless not willing to start talking (read more here).

The second name that was proposed by Guardiola was that of Real Madrid left winger and Brazilian international Robinho (24). After talking with agent Wagner Ribeiro, it soon became clear that Madrid didn't want to sell the player to Barcelona (read more here).

Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain then proposed trying the transfer of Valencia left winger and Spanish international David Silva (22), who in the end chose to renew his contract with Valencia.

Barcelona finally looked at the option to sign Zenit Saint-Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) or Sevilla left winger and Spanish international Diego Capel (20). Although Guardiola wasn't totally convinced of their qualities, both players could have partially solved the left wing problems but a deal was not found.

Read more:

Failed bids for Bayern duo Toni and Ribery

Nani was on top of the transfer list

Robinho agent admits contact with Barcelona

Arshavin will stay with Zenit

Asked about the rumours linking Zenit Saint-Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) with a summer exit (read more here), Zenit manager Dick Advocaat said yesterday at a press conference that the player will not leave this transfer period:

"The door is closed, the deal is closed. No interested club has offered the 30 million euro° we wanted for him and what we think he is worth. They had several weeks of time to buy him and the highest offer was only 16 million euro°. With respect, I think that Arshavin costs more than that so that’s the end of the story."

Read more:
Five players on left wing short list
Arshavin confirms Barcelona offer
Barcelona will have to move for Arshavin

Five players on left wing short list

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona is handling a five-name short list in their search for a left wing attacker.

The list includes the following players: Andrei Arshavin (27 - Zenit Saint-Petersburg), Angel Di María (20 - Benfica), Rodrigo Palacio (26 - Boca Juniors - picture), Ricardo Noir (21 - Boca Juniors) and Diego Capel (20 - Sevilla).

While Barcelona officials could meet with Zenit officials in Monaco later this week, Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain likes the Palacio option a lot. Capel wouldn't be the player Guardiola is looking for.

Like Begiristain (read more here), Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola said at a press conference yesterday that, although he's not worried about the current squad, the club is still searching the market ready to act.

El Mundo Deportivo claims that the board is divided on whether or not buying a left winger in the coming days. A part of the board thinks that a new transfer isn't necessary and prefers that the staff uses the Barcelona Atlètic players if needed.

Read more:

Arshavin confirms Barcelona offer

Barcelona interested in Di Maria

Pre-agreement on Palacio transfer put on hold

Talks on Boca Junior striker Noir

Sevilla president thinks Capel transfer unlikely

News of the day - Saturday

(This post will be updated throughout the day.)


Barcelona will decide after the General Assembly on Sunday if they will get another player, Guardiola prefers to keep the squad as it is now (El Mundo Deportivo)
read more

Even if the transfer of Arshavin and Palacio cannot be closed this summer, Barcelona plans to give it another try during the January transfer window, when the leagues in Russia and Argentina will have come to an end (El Mundo Deportivo)
read more

Dennis Lachter, the agent of Arshavin, says that he expects that Zenit will offer the player a renewal soon (Sovietski Sport)

Zenit manager Advocaat says that, although his club doesn't need to sell, Arshavin will probably move to Tottenham (Bloomberg)
read more

Txiki and Rijkaard liked him, but Capel has never been on the list of Guardiola (Sport)
read more

Manchester City is working on the transfer of Thierry Henry (L'Equipe)
read more

News of the day - Wednesday

(This post will be updated throughout the day.)


Arshavin has contacted Barcelona this week to know if they're still interested in him, Barcelona has replied that the club is still considering if they will sign another player and that he's just one of the options, Barcelona would not be willing to pay more than 20 million euro while Zenit is asking 25 million euro (El Mundo Deportivo)
read more

Zenit states that they have negotiated with Tottenham on the transfer of Arshavin but considers the talks closed after Tottenham didn't make a new proposal (official website)
read more

A Zenit spokesperson confirms that the negotiations with Tottenham on the transfer of Arshavin are cancelled but says that other clubs can stil launch a bid before the end of the month (Efe)
read more

Barcelona didn't push any longer for Arshavin after Zenit president Dyukov replied to Barcelona's first offer by sending a fax that said: "If you want Arshavin for 15 million euro, we'll buy Messi for 20 million euro" (Sport)
read more

Barcelona doesn't want to pay Capel's buyout fee of 15,6 million euro and has asked the player to put some pressure on Sevilla by making clear that he wants to leave (As)

Sevilla is aware that Capel could leave before the end of the transfer period and is already working on how to replace him (As)

Barcelona denies that they're interested in Capel, the entourage of the player says that Txiki hasn't contacted them (El Mundo Deportivo)
read more

Hernanes is again an option, his transfer would allow Iniesta to play on the left wing, the value of the player has risen because of his participation in the Olympic Games and São Paulo could be holding on to the 25 million euro asking price (Sport)
read more

Jeffren is now an absolute priority for Zaragoza, who is expected to push for the player in the coming days, Jeffren has several offers but prefers to join Zaragoza on loan (Equipo)
read more

Arshavin confirms Barcelona offer

In a very interesting interview with Russian sports paper Sport-Express, Zenit Saint Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) has explained last months' events surrounding his transfer and the current situation:

"Before the Euros we met a few times with Zenit president Aleksandr Valerevich Dyukov in the Marriott Hotel in Moscow, where I was staying as part of the national squad. I am actually very thankful to him that he came himself since I didn't have the opportunity to leave the squad for a meeting at the time.

Dyukov made clear each time that the club cared a lot about me, and I always told him that I understand Zenit's concerns, but I very much want to try something different, in a stronger championship. So I asked him to give my agent Dennis Lachter permission to look for a new club for me. That was given for a month.

Already during the Euros Dmitry Selyuk, who used to work with Metallurg Donetsk, called to inform me that Barcelona were interested in me. He wanted to know how much Zenit wanted for me. I had already spoken to the former club president, Sergey Aleksandrovich Fursenko, about this, and the sum of 12-15 million euro was mentioned.

Given that when Dyukov arrived he explained that all of the former president's orders still stood, I told Selyuk 15 million euro°. He said that was an acceptable price and that if my personal terms could be met by Barcelona president Laporta, who would be contacting me, then the Catalan club would make Zenit a formal offer. Laporta called me, I told him what I wanted, and the president of Barca was fine with it.

The next day a fax was sent to Zenit with an official offer from the Catalan club. This was around the time of the match against Sweden at Euro 2008. I was informed by the intermediary Dmitry Selyuk that if Zenit refused this offer, then Barcelona would opt to buy Arsenal's Alexander Hleb. That was what eventually happened."

After some contacts with Italian clubs and Chelsea, Arshavin was then contacted by Tottenham: "I was initially sceptical about the offer from Tottenham but then manager Juande Ramos himself called me and informed me that they were selling Robbie Keane and really wanted to have me in their team, and my attitude changed. When the coach himself is interested in you it's already a half-start to an eventual successful transfer. So I agreed in principle to the deal.

A little later a representative from the English club came here to discuss the personal terms of my contract. The meeting didn't take long, we agreed everything quickly. Only my transfer fee became an issue. I don't know where the Zenit president got his figures from, but it was very high. I was told about 27 million euro°, which scared everyone away.

It had been mooted in the press that one of the stumbling blocks to a deal with a foreign club had been my demands, rather than those of his club but this is untrue. There was never any problem with my personal demands with Barcelona and Tottenham. I can say that if I leave to go abroad, I will earn less than in Russia."

Arshavin says he still wants to leave although he doesn't know if it will be possible this summer: "It's nicer to watch a soap opera than appear in one yourself. I really want to leave but the club, who don't want to let me go at all, are doing everything they can to make sure it doesn't happen. If I don't move now, I probably never will.

My mood at the moment, it's fair to say, is not the best. But it's easier now that all the rumours are dying down, unlike in the first weeks after the Euros when it was very hard. Every ten minutes the phone was ringing, and the situation kept changing in one way or another... Now you see yourself, we've been sitting here for half an hour and I haven't had one call.

I basically believe that the stars will all align themselves and I will be able to leave. But this might be more like believing in miracles. I could, of course, call up the president of the club every day and cry, but I think that would just annoy him. I'm sure he understands me as a human being, but I'm afraid at the moment that doesn't change anything."

Read more:
Arshavin waiting for a call from Barcelona
Silva versus Arshavin (scouting report)
Barcelona will have to move for Arshavin

Barcelona will have to move for Arshavin

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Dennis Lachter, the agent of Zenit Saint-Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27), has yesterday confirmed to journalists that the player has put an offer by Tottenham on hold while he waits for a new move of Barcelona.

Arshavin would have admitted off the record that he's uncomfortable with the whole situation and doesn't understand very well that Barcelona is not entering real negotiations, despite following him for months and despite Zenit being ready to sit around the table.

Zenit would have accepted the fact that Arshavin will leave this summer and will take into account the wish of the player to join Barcelona. The Russian champions nevertheless expect Barcelona to at least match the 20 million euro° bid made by Tottenham.

Read more:
Arshavin first choice for left wing
Looking for a left winger and a centre forward
Arshavin repeats exit wish

Arshavin first choice for left wing

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona is still working on the transfer of a left wing attacker.

Zenit Saint-Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) would be the first option of the Barcelona technical staff. Valencia left winger Silva would be the alternative in case the transfer of Arshavin fails.

Zenit is at this moment asking a 25 million euro° fee for Arshavin but Barcelona is ready to wait and see how things will develop in the coming weeks. With the Russian attacker having the absolute wish to join Barcelona (read more here), the club expects that the Russian champions will drop their asking price in the end.

Zenit spokesperson Alexei Petrov said last week to Spanish news agency EFE that the Russian club didn't yet receive a satisfying offer but that the interested clubs can make a bid for the player until the official end of the transfer window on the 31st of August.

Read more:
Arshavin waiting for a call from Barcelona
Looking for a left winger and a centre forward
Arshavin repeats exit wish

Arshavin repeats exit wish

Asked about the rumours linking him with Barcelona, Chelsea and Tootenham (read more here), Zenit Saint-Petersburg forward and Russian international Andrei Arshavin (27) has told journalists in Russia that he still wants to join another club this summer:

"I've already said that this is the right moment to go. I don't know if I will end up in Barcelona or in London, but I want to leave. It's clear that at this moment the 15 million euro° offer of Barcelona isn't enough for Zenit, that is asking 30 million euro°. But from now on, I don't want to talk anymore about this issue."

Zenit manager Dick Advocaat also gave his view on the transfer rumours and said the talks with Barcelona are still on a dead point: "The only thing I can say is that it's not true that we have picked up the negotiations with Barcelona. And it's also not true that the club has lowered the asking price. In any way I think Arshavin could be an excellent player for Barcelona, certainly after the transfer of Ronaldinho."

Read more:
Zenit waiting for new Barcelona offer for Arshavin

Robinho agent admits contact with Barcelona

Arshavin negotiations on a dead point