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Former Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb has admitted that he cried while joining Barcelona, claiming that he was 'convinced' by managers and agents to leave the Gunners.
Alexander Hleb joined the north London club from Stuttgart for a reported €15million fee (via Transfermarkt) in 2005. Under Arsene Wenger, he realized his potential and thrived in an attacking midfield role.
He scored 10 goals and provided 18 assists in 130 appearances across competitions for the Londoners, emerging as one of the first names on Wenger’s team sheet.
The Belarusian, who represented the north London outfit in the 2005-06 Champions League final against Barcelona, shockingly moved to the Camp Nou in an intial €15 million deal in 2008.
Speaking to Planet Football, he has revealed that he did not want to leave Arsenal, the club where he was “absolutely happy". He explained
“It’s still difficult for me to explain why I left Arsenal. I was absolutely happy there. Arsene completely trusted me, it was idyllic. And then I decided to leave. I was on vacation and agents and managers convinced me that I had to go to Barcelona. To be honest, I didn’t really understand what I was doing. At some point, I realised, ‘Oh god! I’m leaving Arsenal!”
Hleb further revealed that Wenger tried his best to keep him at the club, adding that the Frenchman’s text before his transfer made him cry. He continued:
“When Arsene said that it was a matter of hours, I felt devastated. It was really hard for me to accept that. Wenger did everything to make me stay at Arsenal. He even texted me as I was fishing. ‘Alex, I won’t let you go, we need you here.’ I cried when I read it.”
Arsenal regular Alexander Hleb became surplus at Barcelona
From starting for a top Premier League club to warming the bench for Pep Guardiola’s ascending European conquerors, Hleb’s career took a nosedive in 2008.
The Belarusian’s inability to speak Spanish, coupled with the ascension of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Sergio Busquets, eventually made him an outsider at the Camp Nou. He also fell out with Guardiola after the coach left him out of the squad for Barca’s Champions League final against Manchester United in 2009.
Although Barcelona won the treble that season, they did not consider Hleb to be an integral member of the team. They loaned him out to Stuttgart ahead of the 2009-10 season and later to Birmingham (2010-11) and Wolfsburg (2011-12). Hleb ultimately moved to Russian outfit KS Samara as a free agent in February 2012, ending his disappointing spell with Barca.
He only featured 36 times for Barcelona between 2008 and 2012, recording three assists.
