And if he did want to go somewhere, what could we really do about it, except find agreeable terms that satisfy club and player (as we’ve done with Ronaldinho, Henry and Yaya Toure, to name a few) and move on.

Because this is a business built around a game. Players come, and players go. It’s the club that’s the thing.

Viel spass!

I can´t remember players coming out and talking to the press when CRonaldo was transferred or other transfers, so judging from this one example the whole transfer etiquette in Spain is very questionable imho.

Second, many of us concur with players damaging relationships by speaking out about transfers. Yes, there’s a degree of arrogance about it. Absolutely. But the simple reality is that not everybody wants to come to a club at which the starting XI is etched in stone. Were I Fabregas, I’d be wanting to wait another year, even two, to move Xavi a bit closer to pasture before making the move, if he wants to make it.

As far as players having their “place,” I would say that player comments about transfers should be greeted with the same “Yeah, right” as comments about politics, to Zito’s post, which made a very eloquent point (notwithstanding the insults aimed at us).

But I think that a player’s “place” depends upon your view of an athlete. The press asks, the player answers, the press prints. Simple as that. Yes, the players often say stupid things. That won’t stop the press from asking, won’t stop the players from asking, and won’t stop fans from getting riled when players say the “wrong” thing.

I just don’t think there is a systematic campaign by any club to destabilize a player. I don’t believe that can happen, unless we’re talking about a Championship side, where a player hears it enough and starts thinking “Hey, it would be cool to play for X or Y club.”

But these are Premiership sides we’re talking about, right? People who have been carping about l’affaire Fabregas have said things such as “We should talk about bringing Xavi or Messi to Arsenal.” Go right ahead. They will smile, and so will we. If a player wants to leave, they will leave. Simple as that, no matter what a player says, stupid or not.

For the record, I don’t agree with the “Well, so and so belongs here” talk. That’s nonsense. Nor do I agree with the increasingly high mountain of dudgeon on the opposite side, that grows ever higher by the day. We lost Toure Yaya this transfer window. It happens, and will happen again. It’s part of the business that this game of ours really is.