The Arsenal defender Gael Clichy is moving to Man City after eight years of working under Arsene Wenger, following in the footsteps of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor, and like his future team-mates will be rewarded with a massive rise in his wages.
According to this morning’s Independent, Clichy currently earns a basic wage of £58,000 which will rise to a massive £90,000 at the Eastlands plus the usual bonuses and add-ons according to the teams success on the pitch.
The respected UK paper reports that both sides are happy with the price and the terms of the deal, but they are waiting for Clichy himself to return to England to rubberstamp the move. They say that Man City are confident all will go well, but the delay is making them nervous as they know that there are other suitors for his services.
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It seems that Liverpool were the original favourites to sign Clichy, and when the French international first met Wenger for his contract talks he asked if Arsenal would match the wages offered to him by Kenny Dalglish (£80,000 a week) but was turned down flat and immediately placed on the transfer list.
Dalglish is still hoping that they can persuade Clichy to rethink on his return, but the extra wages plus the guarantee of Champions League football is believed to have convinced Clichy his future lies at the Eastlands.
As a Liverpool fan I am very glad! He doesn’t exactly get a resounding seal of approval from Arsenal fans and I don’t think its sour grapes as firstly I’ve heard it before (he wouldn’t sign a new contract) and secondly Gooners are more pragmatic and much less prone to fickle outbursts than say their near rivals who play in white!
I think, it could be a blessing in disguise. Today the continental window is opening & we can see some real action. So far KK could camouflage our targets by a lot of fake interest, but now I think it ‘ll be halt, aim & fire. I would like to see Aly Cissokho as our first choice LB.
Apart from the apparent bottomless financial strength of Chelsea, ManCity, Real Mardrid & Barca, other major European giants like ManU, Arsenal, Porto, Lyon, Bayern, Milan (s) can offer CL to promising stars; therefore for open & lengthy bidding, we can’t compete. Though, there had been many speculations, so far we have purchased only 3 players & all of them are good to great, though the English two are a bit inflated priced.
Last season Gael was not the safest of full backs, like other Arsenal players he seemed to lose his edge even early on in the season. So it puzzles me a little when clubs like City and Liverpool are prepared to dig deep for his services. Whatever the transfer fee there is no way any sane manager would rate him worth 90,000 pounds a week.
great price for a proven solid PL left back, something city need
i reckon mancini will try using kolarov as a winger