Spurs transfer target refusing to play for Zenit

Tottenham remain keen on signing Russian manchild Andrei Arshavin, yet they are not so keen on coughing up his club’s £27m asking price. In protest, the 27-year-old refused to help Zenit crash out of the Russian Cup yesterday, and his agent helped paint a picture of the situation without resorting to any stereotypes about Russia’s former political stance:

“Nothing will change because this is the old Soviet Union way. For the Russian sports establishment the desires of the player mean absolutely nothing.

“They are the big bosses. It is a dictatorship. He is a slave.”

To summarise, the club who have stood by Arshavin for his entire career and who have helped make him the player he is today are slave drivers, because quite keen on holding onto a man who is contractually obliged to play for them.

[Football 365]

Swiss man who should really stop talking speaks out again

FIFA head honcho and Real Madrid fan Sepp Blatter was lambasted for expressing sympathy for Ronaldo and equating modern footballers to slaves. Now, he has completely denied these comments. Well, technically he hasn’t denied them, he just kind of put a new twist on them:

“I have never said that Ronaldo is a slave.

“But I said slavery with young people. European clubs are trying to get 13, 14 and 15-year-old boys and bring them to the big clubs.

“I have never mentioned that for Ronaldo. But the press, they have distorted it.

“Ronaldo is not a slave.”

Also, Blatter last month said: ”I think in football there’s too much modern slavery in transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere. We are trying now to intervene in such cases.” Now, he has changed his mind and insists that FIFA “will not intervene” with the Cristiano Ronaldo saga.

It’s clear that someone should be devoting less time to press conferences and more time to retirement plans.