a very good question.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/ ... le/344467/Cheaper than Andy CarrollAfter the longest transfer saga in football history, Barcelona are about to get the player they want for the price they want.
A look through the Eurosport-Yahoo! archives suggests the first serious mention of Fabregas returning to Barca was in 2007 - we have been dealing with this nonsense for four years.
Despite the fact that Barcelona did not so much woo Fabregas as jump on him and start dry-humping his leg, Arsenal failed to extract a premium for their much-coveted captain.
The whole thing defies logic - the more publicly you state your desire to sign a player, the more you pay for him, right?
Apparently not. Barca are shelling out
just £27m, with Fabregas himself chipping in a further £3m.
Imagine if any other club told a player: "We love you and we really want to sign you, and we have the money to meet the asking price - only we won't, and we need you to chip in to get a deal done."
And yet Fabregas has happily dipped into his own pocket to secure his move.
The words that now haunt Arsenal are these - Andy Carroll.How on earth did Newcastle secure a bigger fee for their number nine than Arsenal have for one of the best players in the world?ED knows it is seldom wise to compare transfer fees directly.
Carroll's price was pushed up by the fact that it was January 31, he is English, and he had little desire to leave Newcastle.
But come on. Whatever the mitigating circumstances, Andy Carroll costing more than Cesc Fabregas is not a scenario that should ever occur. Ever.
The idea that Liverpool paid for potential is undermined by the fact Carroll is only 19 months younger than Fabregas.
The Spaniard may have more miles on the clock, but ask yourself which sort of player is better equipped to withstand the ravages of time - spry, sprightly midfielders or big, bulky strikers with a history of injury problems?
It has become a bit fashionable to do Fabregas down, but ED thinks he is an extraordinary footballer. His vision and passing range are probably surpassed only by Xavi. And now Barca are going to have them both.
Ultimately, being the best team in the world gives Barcelona licence to do pretty much whatever they want.
Any player, faced with a choice of Barca and another club, would need all of milliseconds to make his selection. Who in their right mind would refuse the chance to be part of possibly the best football team ever?
Barcelona knew Fabregas would continue agitating for a move as long as it took, and that Arsene Wenger would eventually tire of having an unsettled captain.
Barca certainly haven't won any friends with the way they have pursued Fabregas, but they don't always do it like that.
Their pursuit of Alexis Sanchez was far less painful, but their negotiating stance was ruthless and relied on the player's cast-iron desire to go to the Camp Nou.
While Chelsea and Manchester City's offers spiralled over £30m, Barca stuck to their guns at £22 plus clauses - and Sanchez's insistence that he would only go to Catalonia meant Udinese eventually had to settle for much less than they could have got.
So, what now?
Assuming Pep Guardiola keeps his midfield anchor man - and he needs to given the attacking licence afforded to the full-backs - he will have no fewer than 10 high-class options battling for five attacking positions.
How about a 'front five' of Xavi, Fabregas, Sanchez, Iniesta and Messi?
With a reserve quintet of Keita, Thiago, Afellay, Pedro and Villa?
Yes, that's right. A bench featuring Spain's all-time record goalscorer (Villa), another man who started and scored in the Champions League final (Pedro), plus an established Dutch international (Afellay) and one of Europe's most highly-rated young players (Thiago).
Every great club side tends to win (at least) three European Cups in the space of six seasons.
Real Madrid did it in the 50s and at the turn of the millennium. Ajax and Bayern Munich did it in the 70s. Liverpool did it, AC Milan did it, and in May Barcelona did it.
The scary part is that, with the squad Guardiola is assembling, Barca could rule European football for another 10 years.
