Barcelona Have Done No Wrong in Cesc Fabregas Saga

Soon, it seems, the football world will be able to breathe a collective sigh of relief following reports that Arsenal and Barcelona have agreed a fee for Cesc Fabregas.

The situation has been dragging on for so long that to call it a transfer saga simply doesn't do it justice. We are now in the final days of football's first transfer era. By comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo's world-record move to Real Madrid two years ago has the air of a hasty loan deal done just before midnight on deadline day.

Aside from boring the rest of the world into a stupor with the incessant line of speculative stories on the matter, Barca's pursuit of their youth product has greatly irked Arsenal and their fans. The relationship between two clubs built on a mutual respect through their shared footballing ethos will surely never be the same again. It would be surprising to see the Spanish champions once more given the keys to Arsenal's London Colney training ground, as happened in the days leading up to the Champions League final back in May. 

But have the European champions actually done enough to warrant the vitriol now aimed at them from across the Bay of Biscay?

The source of the dissatisfaction among the Gunners' faithful is chiefly based upon the many Barca players who have gone public with their desire to bring Fabregas back to Catalonia. Several senior members of the squad—perhaps most notably Xavi, Gerard Pique and David Villa —have stated emphatically that the 24-year-old should and will return to the club. 

This has obviously left a bad taste in the mouths of Arsenal supporters—and rightly so—but players cannot be gagged from talking about such matters in public, and neither should they. They are, after all, answering questions they have been asked by journalists, often while the hacks are crammed into a mixed zone, desperate for a better line of questioning than "Why is Lionel Messi so good?". 

We are treated to too many anodyne, neutral post-match interviews and press conferences from players as it is. They are all heavily media trained from a young age these days, so when the majority leave the ground after a game, pass the awaiting global media and board their coach while pretending to be on their mobile phones the press pack is just grateful for anyone who will stop and talk, even if they offer little in the way of interest.

And, crucially, this is the players speaking for themselves, not on behalf of the club. This is why so many sports stars have become popular on Twitter, because it offers a direct route to their real personalities instead of the front they put on while at the office. To castigate players whenever they do speak out will only put them off doing so in the future.

Of course, the Barca contingent of the Spain international squad did no one any favors when they ambushed Fabregas and pulled a Blaugrana shirt over his head as they celebrated their World Cup victory last summer in Madrid. It certainly sent out a bad message to Arsenal fans, even if the much-coveted player himself fought successfully to stop Pique and Carles Puyol completing the job. It may not have broken any regulations, but it was definitely not cool. 

But remember that this was a group of players who had just spent the best part of six weeks together, culminating in them bringing home their nation's first ever World Cup. Athletes are often subject to celebratory hijinks of a worse nature. When the England cricket team beat Australia to win the Ashes for the first time in 18 years, bowler Andrew Flintoff was allegedly so drunk that he 
relieved himself in the flower bed of 10 Downing Street during a reception with the Prime Minister. Slipping a jersey on your teammate seems small fry by comparison. 

The above were all the actions of individuals, independent of FC Barcelona the entity, but the club itself has attracted ire for refusing to take no for an answer. Their attempts to re-sign Fabregas may stretch back as long as three to four years, but at no stage has there ever been any accusations of the player being tapped up or of any other improper actions.

The length of Barca's interest shows how much they want to sign the player. How often have you heard a player announce his arrival at a new club by citing how them showing more desire to sign him than all other suitors as a major reason for them joining? 

Fabregas does not have to look far for proof of how much Barca regret letting him slip through their fingers. They have sold youth products Bojan Krkic and Oriol Romeu this summer—to Roma and Chelsea, respectively—but they have inserted strict buy-back clauses into both deals. They will not be making the same mistake again.

Finally—and this may be the hardest factor for the red half of North London to swallow—Barcelona's biggest selling point is that Fabregas is far more likely to win silverware at the Camp Nou. For a player who is currently both a world and European champion, and considered one of the best players in his position on the planet, his achievements at club level total one FA Cup and one Charity Shield. Both those trophies were won six years ago. At the time, the 18-year-old Fabregas was no doubt looking forward to adding plenty more winners medals to that count, but they have failed to materialize for any number of reasons. 

If defeat in the 2006 Champions League final to the club he had left three years previously laid the foundations for him questioning his choice of club, then last season's defeat to Birmingham City in the Carling Cup final planted a giant red-and-blue flag atop the solid structure housing his desire to leave.

Barcelona are in the midst of an era undeniably defined by them, both by cold, hard silverware and the incredible heights to which they have taken the game on an almost weekly basis.What player could resist such an invitation to be part of such a glorious period in the game's history?

The club and its players may well have acted at times in a manner at odds with a sporting organization which purports to be "More than a club"—even if that motto relates more to their place in Catalonia's heritage than their actual football—but there is nothing for which they can be brought to book.

The sooner the deal can be done and any enraged demand for recriminations abandoned, the better for everyone. Not least for those on the outside, wearily looking in on the whole, interminable affair.