John Smith, the former football agent, has revealed the complicated deals that Arsenal struck with Zenit St Petersburg over the transfer of Andrey Arshavin in 2009. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President was also involved in the deal and made the North London side pay double the initially intended fee.
Also read: Was Andrey Arshavin really a failure at Arsenal?
In 2009, Arshavin signed for English Premier League club Arsenal, and became the most expensive player in Arsenal's history at the time, at a fee of £15 million. However, he failed to deliver at the English side and returned to Russia in 2012.
Putin’s involvement in the deal
In his book The Deal, Smith has lifted the lid on the transfer and alleged that Putin did not want the star player to go on a cheap fee. Arsenal had offered a fee of £7.5m initially, but Putin intervened at this juncture.
This led to the eventual fee doubling what Arsenal initially offered. He also said that Arsene Wenger, Arsenal’s manager, was heavily involved in the deal.
The Russian attacker's boyhood club, Zenit, was run by the President of Gazprom– who are believed to answer directly to the head of state. In January of 2009, when Arsenal approached to buy the player, Putin made sure that the club receives a substantial amount.
Also read: ‘Prodigal son’ Arshavin returns home to Zenit
Smith said, as reported by the Independent: “Arsene was involved in every step. Every conversation with Arsenal was based around how Arsene was feeling and things he thought they could do to bridge the gap. Arsene was totally in control on that environment.”
Arsenal took 3 months to finalise deal
The Gunners spent three months in concluding the deal as they did not want to step a foot outside the moral compass they are renowned for. Fortunately, Smith's superior negotiating skills helped them complete the transfer.
He continued, “Technically, we might not have been given permission [to speak to Arshavin]. But that’s my job for a club and player at any given time. I am the bridge that the club can’t cross. In most cases of employment exchanges in any walk of life, the potential employee and employer have had some sort of prior connection.
“There has to be a person ready to break the conventional ethical boundary of not pinching other people’s staff and actually make contact. So we do sometimes facilitate that in football.”
