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 Worth the trouble? Anelka saga illustrates soccer's conflicts
Posted: Tuesday July 20, 1999 09:40 AM
Sometime between now and the millennium Nicolas Anelka will leave Arsenal for good and sign with another club, most probably Juventus, but possibly Lazio. Along the way, he may sue Arsenal, claiming they are infringing on his rights as a European citizen by holding him to the five-year contract extension he signed last summer. And, when he is sold, he may or may not break the world transfer record set by Italian striker Christian Vieri, who moved from Lazio to Inter Milan last May for around $50 million. Those are pretty much the only things we can be sure of in what has became the most drawn-out, ill-tempered transfer saga in recent memory. It is a story which neatly encapsulates all of soccer's recent talking points. From greed to player power. From Serie A's reestablishment as football's big spenders to the inability of Premiership clubs to hang on to genuine young foreign talent. And from European law to outdated and often-ignored UEFA regulations. Last Friday Lazio pulled out of the Anelka race, 39 days after their initial approach. Lazio chairman Sergio Cragnotti said it was all over, that they had made their final offer, it had been rejected and they would now focus on the upcoming season. It wasn't the first time Lazio had turned their back on negotiations, but this time there was a sense of finality. They had offered a deal which would have paid Arsenal $30 million, plus an additional $6.5 million if Anelka was sold to another club by the year 2003. And they agreed to pay all the agents' fees and commissions (which ordinarily would have been split among the clubs), a total of just over $2 million. The total package came close to $39 million, the highest ever cash-only offer for a single player. Yet when Arsenal still would not budge, Cragnotti walked away. Sure, there is always a chance that the Gunners will accept his offer and beg him to return. But with every day that passes, the likelihood of that happening diminishes That leaves Juventus as the sole bidder for Anelka's services. Officially they continue to deny their interest. But, according to the press, they are very much in the running and have made an offer which blows away not just Lazio's bid, but the fee Inter paid for Vieri as well. The reported value of the total package is in the region of $55 million. Juventus are said to have bid $35 million in cash, plus French winger Thierry Henry, plus the loan of Italian forward Nicola Amoruso. The 22-year-old French international cost Juventus $17 million last January. Given the spiraling inflation that has hit player valuations in the past few months, his worth on the open market is at least $20 million. So there you have it: $55 million. The only thing standing in the way of the deal, indeed the only reason Arsenal did not sell him to Juventus weeks ago, is Anelka himself. The young forward has repeatedly indicated that he wants to play for Lazio and will turn down any move to Turin. According to sources close to Lazio, Arsenal has been trying to buy time by entertaining their offer, while desperately working behind the scenes to get Anelka to accept the Juventus move. When Lazio walked away, it's a safe bet that it sent shivers down Arsenal vicechairman David Dein's spine. He has lost his backup option and now really has only one club to sell to: Juventus.
This turn of events has shifted the balance of power back to Anelka. Dein has vowed he will never sell him to Real Madrid, the other club that showed interest, and it is unlikely he will go back on his word. It is also virtually impossible that Anelka will return to Highbury for another season. After what he did and what he has said about Arsenal, the fans would lynch him, if his teammates don't get to him first. So Anelka knows he's eventually going to have to accept a move to Juventus. But there really is no rush. He can hold out for whatever terms he wants. On the other hand, time is running out for Arsenal. If Juventus also withdraw, they are stuck with a player they cannot use without losing face, a guy who six months from now will be worth half the current asking price. And it is far from inconceivable that Juventus will grow frustrated and pull out. They do not really need Anelka. They already have a powerful strike force in Italian internationals Filippo Inzaghi and Alex Del Piero and newly-acquired Yugoslav forward Darko Kovacevic a (a $23 million signing). In fact, according to one Italian newspaper, their plan was to sign Anelka and loan him out to Real Madrid for a season. That would give him time to develop, while giving Juventus time to sell Inzaghi (rated $20 to $25 million) and finance the Anelka deal. So the four-way poker game continues. Lazio has folded, but a call from Dein may well bring them back to the table. Anelka, Arsenal and Juventus are still staring each other down. This matter will be resolved eventually, but by then somebody will have lost big. All this begs the question: is Anelka worth a world-record fee? The answer: not a chance. The only way shelling out $40 to $50 million on him is if he moves to the next level and beyond, if he grows into a Ronaldo or Batistuta type player. He is young, athletic and technically gifted, but he is still incredibly raw. He can be exciting to watch, but don't forget, this is a guy who had just one good season in the top flight. He has been a professional for three years and has scored a career total of 24 goals. Hardly the stuff of legends. Sure, his 17 goals for Arsenal last season propelled the Gunners to second place in the Premiership. But if you stop and analyze those goals, you'll see that 12 of them came on fast breaks, situations where he used his blistering speed to beat the offside trap. Goals are goals, obviously, but the point is that Anelka never really displayed the range of skills you would expect to get for $50 million. And frankly, it's not as if Anelka is the only dominating young striker out there. If you want to talk star power, there are at least seven players aged 24 or under who are clearly a notch above Anelka: Del Piero, Andrei Shevchenko, Francesco Totti, Michael Owen, Raul, Marcelo Salas and Ronaldo. In fact, you could make an argument for the likes of Robbie Fowler, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Nicola Ventola, Hernan Crespo, Hidetoshi Nakata, David Trezeguet and Vincenzo Montella. Overrated? No question.
Extra timeManchester United and team captain Roy Keane are still far apart in their contract negotiations. He is reportedly asking for $16 million over five years, and the club is offering $13 million. Expect the Irish midfielder (who has one year remaining on his contract) to move to a Serie A club (possibly to Juventus, who could offer Dutch international Edgar Davids, plus cash, in return). That way, United could make a few bucks and Keane would be in for a big payday (Italian sources say Juve would be willing to pay him close to $5 million a year). ... Lazio will probably loan Ivan De La Pena out to Marseille by the end of the week. The 23-year-old midfielder was a bust in Rome after his $20 million move from Barcelona, but Lazio officials think he can recover his form in France. ... Look for Bulgarian legend Hristo Stoichkov to be named as his country's Minister of Sport by the end of the year. The 33-year-old former Barcelona star recently left Japanese club Kashiwa Reysol, saying his motivation to play soccer has declined and that he also had problems with his family because of the distance between Bulgaria and Japan.
London-based Gabriele Marcotti writes a weekly column on international soccer for CNNSI.com.
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