Reasons Why Cesc Fabregas Won't Be Using Article 17 To Leave Arsenal

Morning all. There's been quite a bit of talk over the last couple of days, concerning the possibility of Cesc invoking something called Article 17 of FIFA's regulations, now that Arsenal have effectively told Barca to go swing. A lot of people have said that this is a cast-iron way for Cesc to leave Arsenal if he felt strongly enough to do so. However,I can assure everyone reading this that there is no chance whatsoever of this happening. And here's why.....

First of all, here's what Article 17 means. It lets players buy themselves out of a contract with a club,once the "protected" period of that contract has passed. For a player Cesc's age, that means 3 years. Now, a lot of people are using the date that he signed his 8 year contract, which was 2006, as the time from which to start his "protected" period of his contract, meaning he could have bought his way out of it as early as last summer if he so wanted.

But, as we know, Cesc signed a new contract last year. It was announced, as these things always are, as an "1 year extension". But his old contract would have been tossed in the bin and a new one would have been drawn up. Clubs do this, primarily to stop players doing exactly what people are suggesting Cesc might do now. So thanks to this new contract in 2009, Cesc wouldn't be able to invoke Article 17 for at least another 2 years.

And even if Cesc decided to leave this way (which he can't), there are plenty of reasons why he should't, the first of which is time. Andy Webster,of whom why Article 17 is called the "Webster ruling", couldn't play for another team for almost a full season, thanks to his old club challenging his method of leaving the club, through the High Court. I, for one, can't ever see Cesc thinking that to be a course worth taking. He, of all people, will be hoping that this can be done as amicably as possible. Of course, there will be others who will be thinking that giving Cesc £25million to buy his way out of Arsenal (that's how much it would cost, if he could. But he can't). Can you guess where most of these people might be based?

That's right. Barcelona. It's no surprise, that after being told where to shove the £29 million they bid for Cesc, stories suddenly emerge of the possibility that Arsenal might only get £25 million if Cesc uses Article 17 (which he can't). As soon as that story starts doing the rounds, out comes Joan Laporta, claiming that £29million for Cesc is fair-market value! This from a man who paid £27 million for Brazil's second-choice right back, £40 million PLUS Eto'o for Zlatan, and has just shelled out another £35 million for David Villa. Who is 28. If Villa, at 28, is worth £35 million, how in God's name, is Cesc, at 23, worth less???

As you can see, Barca are now at DEFCUNT 1, in regards to buying Cesc this summer. And the more Arsenal just ignore them and keep stating that Cesc isn't for sale, then the more desperate Barca will become. It's only a matter of time before they come back with a second bid for him. The amount they bid will be telling in how long they plan on dragging this out. My guess is that they'll bid £33 million and Arsenal will hopefully just copy and paste the statement they released on Tuesday. And then we'll really see Barca at their arrogant worst. Woo Hoo......

Before I go, just a quick reminder of how to enter my Fantasy World Cup league. Go HERE ,set up your team and then click on Private Leagues. The League PIN is 18824. Feel free to join up and invite a mate to do so too. The more the merrier.....