A shock transfer in England, a change of hands at Catalonia, a suspension for an Italian striker for ‘assaulting’ his teammate and a surprising development in Australian football, or shall we say Australian soccer; the week certainly has not lacked any excitement.
The wisdom behind the impending transfer of Spaniard Juan Mata from Chelsea to Manchester United misses everyone, from a pundit to a casual fan. That a two-time club player of the season can be deemed surplus and be sold to a direct Premier League rival is in itself surprising, to say the least. But Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has added a completely new angle to the story by suggesting Chelsea are trying to fire at the Gunners and Manchester City — two clubs above the Blues in the points table and yet to play their respecting second fixture against United — over David Moyes’ shoulders.
“I am surprised because Juan Mata is a great player and they sell a great player to a direct opponent,” Wenger was quoted as saying by The Guardian. “It opens [up] again a little bit the opportunity of this transfer market because Chelsea had already played twice against Man United so they don’t play again. They could have sold him last week (before the United game).”
Is Mata’s transfer a clever ploy by Jose Mourinho? Whichever way the verdict goes, Moyes surely wouldn’t complain.
At Barcelona, president Sandro Rosell has announced that he is stepping down. Not a big deal? Well, Rosell has been accused of misappropriating funds from a player transfer. The transfer, which is now being probed by Spanish authorities, is that of Brazilian star Neymar’s.
Back in England, Southampton has finally suspended their hot-headed Italian striker (not Balotelli) Dani Osvaldo. The forward was involved in a much-publicised training field bust-up with teammate Jose Fonte in December, an incident that left the latter with a bloodied nose.
Meanwhile, the game could finally take the flight Down Under. Abu Dhabi-funded Manchester City have bought a majority stake in Australia’s top league club Melbourne Heart, the Premier League side’s second investment after the soon-to-take-flight New York City FC.
