Wenger: Bale sale would make joke of FFP
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is still keen to sign Luis Suarez and is amazed by sums being discussed for Gareth Bale.
Published On 2 Aug 2013
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday he is still keen to sign Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez even though Liverpool have rejected two offers from the Gunners for him.
“We will completely respect what Liverpool want to do,” Wenger, talking before this weekend’s friendly pre-season warm-up Emirates Cup competition, said.
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“We want to sign the player if it is feasible in an amicable way. I am a great believer you have to keep as much confidentiality as possible, which is quite difficult in the modern world.
“But we work very hard, not only on the case you name, but on other different cases.”
You wonder what kind of impact and effect it has on the football world. It looks like it has made everybody worse than before. It makes a joke of it
Suarez, 26, scored 29 goals for Liverpool in all competitions last season, but is currently four matches into a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic in a Premier League match at Anfield last April.
Liverpool have continually maintained throughout the close-season that Suarez is not for sale and last week Liverpool owner John W. Henry appeared to ridicule Arsenal’s latest bid after the Gunners tabled an offer of $61.47 million for the striker.
The unusual offer was intended to trigger a clause in the Uruguayan international’s contract that says Liverpool must inform the striker of Arsenal’s interest.
Henry said on his verified Twitter account: “What do you think they are smoking over there at Emirates?”
Wenger said he was also optimistic of strenghthening his squad before the transfer deadline ends on September 2.
“We are working very hard to strengthen our squad.
“I am confident. You look at many teams around us. Nothing has happened until now. At the moment the market hasn’t moved a lot. Apart from Man City, nobody has done anything.”
He also said that if Real Madrid were to pay $160 million to sign Gareth Bale from Arsenal’s arch-rivals Tottenham it would make a “joke” of Financial Fair Play.
“It’s quite amazing that in the year where the Financial Fair Play comes in, the football world has gone completely crazy,” said Wenger.
“You wonder what kind of impact and effect it has on the football world. It looks like it has made everybody worse than before. It makes a joke of it.”
The two-day Emirates Cup starts on Saturday and features Arsenal, Galatasaray, Napoli and Porto.
Source: Reuters