Wasn't it to win trophies and to play under his childhood hero Pep Guardiola? lol life is about timing Cesc and you just missed the Barca glory train mate. Unlucky!
LOL. I think Cesc was a disgrace in his last two years at Arsenal. Can't say I am upset that it's not going well for him at Barca. That said - i reckon he will play for us again
Agreed. RVP might stay though as he is a bit older and has had injuries more. I still think only city will take him and pay him more than us
Cesc actually took a pay cut. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/aug/15/barcelona-cesc-fabregas-arsenal-tears
He didnt though because we charge 50% here on tax and in spain they can avoid most of the tax altogether I think. So he did get more money..alot more. Also there is no source for these wages. I find it hard to believe he got paid less at what is the best paid sports club on the planet. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/barcelona-overtake-new-york-yankees-as-best-paid-sports-team-2270925.html
I can. Cesc wanted out badly and like the link says he did indeed take a pay cut. Moving to Barcelona for him was not about money, no way in hell.
But he didnt take a pay cut because the top rate of tax in spain was 24% vs 50% here. So even if those figures are true he went from taking home £2m a year (and living in one of the most expnsive places in the world - london) to taking home £2.28m a year (in still an expensive but cheaper place). Also you can bet he had a load of bonuses for winning stuff which he would of (wrongly) thought were almost a dead cert with barcas recent record. Edit: it is possible this 24% is just for foreign players? So i could be wrong with these figures.
It was called the Beckham tax or something. If Cesc wanted to leave only for money then he would not have not moved to Barcelona. Even if your calculations are correct, it does not highlight the fact that Cesc left for money. His increase in pay was small, if that is indeed correct.
I dont doubt that it was only for money. I think money would of (rightly so perhaps) played a very large roll in his decision.
Could not have been that large, because your sums show that the increase was minimal, if it's correct. He would have surely turned down that offer if money was a large part of his decision?
Fabregas worked for over a year with Barcelona - staff and players to engineer a move away. I dont think he left for the money, rather to go and play with his mates. What sticks in the throat is the underhand way in which he did it, whilst on the surface pretending he was innocent. He probably cost Arsenal £20-£30m because of his antics.
It's well reported, not just by the Guardian. It was all over the place, that Cesc took a pay cut. Money was not a factor. If it was, then he would not gone to Barcelona.
Well ok. Maybe I am wrong. Although I will point out that it isnt even as cut and dry as you suggest anyway. Tax reasons, possible bonuses and living costs might of meant he was better off there than with us. But either way perhaps you are right and money wasnt a major factor. Still doesnt change the way the whole thing seemed to go just like jayram said. I really dont understand the cesc worship. Sure he did well and was a good player. But he didnt drive us to glory years or anything. And he wasnt an arsenal regular for that long to be honest. I prefer passionate support for players who give their all to the club (adams) or who bring us truely great times of success (henry)
Cesc is not up there with our real legends, but he should still be respected for what he did for us. He was at the club for eight years and by modern standards that's a pretty long time. The way he left, did leave a bitter taste but I think we should look beyond on that. He came here when he was 15 and was a regular at the age of 16. Gave us a few really magical seasons in which he did lead that team with his performances. It's not Cesc's fault that Wenger and the board did not buy the correct players to help him lead us to titles and so on. I for one, will never forget his performance against Milan at the San Siro. It was nothing short of stunning. Also in the end, he did leave to join his boyhood club and go play with his mates.
As most may know, I was not impressed by the manner of his leaving but your post makes a lot of sense too. Had Wenger and this board kept us in the winner's circle it could have been so different. Yes we had the stadium debt but how much incentive did he have to stay? That said, the way he left still holds bad memories. The fault though doesn't altogether lie with him.
I believe that Pep Guardiola was another reason why Cesc wanted to play at Barca. He is Fabregas' boyhood football hero.
