The Ben Arfiles: Ben Arfa is a Marseillais, again.
By: Magnusson |
4 Comments
This time I can assure you it’s done. Both clubs came to terms of agreement with the help of the juridic commision of the LFP presided over by Frederic Thiriez. It was a really short meeting and I think both presidents understood how stupid they looked in this petty fight and these two brilliant individuals (who I believe just enjoy fighting via the press but who respect each other tremendously) didn’t need much help in my opinion.
The LFP declared on their website that «Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique de Marseille (…) came to terms this tuesday July 1st, (…) after efforts from both parties, and agreed to transfer the player fromOlympique Lyonnais to Olympique de Marseille. The transfer is registered at the date of June 30th 2008.»
It was a matter of saving face for both clubs and it’s done.
They agreed on the exact same terms as before which are 12 million up front, 1 more if Marseille makes it to the Champions League THIS SEASON and 20% of the future sale of Hatem Ben Arfa. The player sits on his 1.5 million though.
I’m breathing a little better now. We’ re going to be able to focus on bakary Koné and other players. I’ll give you a roundup soon
The Ben Arfiles: Hatem Ben Arfa trained today!
By: Magnusson | 8 Comments
As he announced, Hatem Ben Arfa was present and trained with his teammates (or maybe not. I’m not sure how to call them) while Claude Puel was waiting for him at Tola Vologe. In his first Eric Gerets training, Hatem camme out smiling and radiant. He added that he wanted to reiterate the fact that he would never go back to Lyon, no matter what they did and he wanted everybody to focus on the “no matter what”. He assured fans and journalist that he was not planning to go back no matter the threats.
It has been confirmed that Real Madrid entered the dance a few days ago and that Jean-Michel Aulas is now set on selling them the kid. At this game, it’s to who will have the best poker face. If Marseille is bluffing with all this “get him to train with us on front of the cameras to show we’re not shook”, they’re going to face the consequences. If it is Lyon, they’ll just be the laughingstock of the Ligue1 and people will talk about Aulas greediness and lack of honesty. Read the rest of this entry »
The Ben-Arfiles*: OL vs. HBA? It is … ON!
By: Magnusson | 4 Comments
Mute ever since the “Hatem Ben Arfa Affair” started, Claude Puel was the first to fire this sunday morning in L’Equipe. The newly appointed Lyonnais general manager came out and said that he wanted Hatem to be present tomorrow at the start of training like the rest of his teammates:
“Hatem wants to leave, there have been discussions, but like in every arrangement, every single entity needs to find their interest. And for the moment, that is not the case. For me, the problem is closed and there won’t be any more discussions, Hatem will have to be at the Tola-Vologe on Monday!”
At least, he has the merit to be clearer than all the declarations Lyon has been sending out via its website lately. Claude Puel never made a mystery of his wish to see Ben Arfa play for him, so he would be on eof the (very) few people happy to see this deal fail at Lyon.
On the other hand, Hatem Ben Arfa gave his first interview live from Marseille’s training ground at the Commanderie this morning at the traditionnal sunday breakfast and he himself could have hardly been clearer about his intentions: Read the rest of this entry »
The European Kits have already leaked…
By: Magnusson | 4 Comments
These were supposed to come out in two weeks just in time for the UEFA to decide wether or not they will allow us to have our crest on the new uniforms. It seems very unlikely since UEFA are dumb enough to refuse Nancy the right to wear “Say No To Racism” on their jerseys last year. Maybe we should start a capaign against UEFA itself since they still haven’t ruled against Zenit St.Peterburg when Ronald Zubar received bananas while training there.
Anyway, to get back to our beige or champagne or offically, “gold” european jerseys, here they are. Don’t mind the fact that Bolo Zenden isn’t smiling much on the picture, he just heard that Ben Arfa signed and realized he may play even less than he did last year.
As for the kjerseys itself, it will bear the N9UF Telecom logo as will the away jersey. Apparently DIRECT ENERGIE will only be on home uniforms. Whatever.
Tell me what you think of this one.
Breaking News: Ben Arfa transfer annuled…
By: Magnusson | 1 Comment
I think this is the first time I’ve been litterally been shocked by a “Communiqué”. At around 11.25pm tonight, my RSS Feed went insane once again wih headlines that the official Olympique Lyonnais website just released some pretty incredible news.
I’m shocked and I’m just going to give it to you raw:
“L’Olympique Lyonnais informs that the possibility of transferring Hatem BEN ARFA to the Olympique de Marseille will not be able to materialize, none of the elements in conformity with OL demands were met today, making it impossible for any postal registration to the LFP before June 30, the deadline set during negotiations.
The OL is therefore surprised of the information wanting to formalize the transfer too hastily this week released by the Olympique de Marseille while no document was signed by the 3 parties, and of the sending Friday evening by Marseille to the Professional Football League of a letter announcing a contract that was signed by Hatem BEN ARFA without the agreement of Olympique Lyonnais.
Olympique Lyonnais, which had agreed in principle to a transfer of Hatem BEN ARFA to a french club, discussions had been initiated with OM and PSG, said the following:
No contractual agreement has been signed by the 2 clubs for the transfer of Hatem BEN ARFA
Olympique de Marseille was unable to provide the financial guarantees requested in connection with this potential transfer
No agreement has been reached with Hatem BEN ARFA and OL about his involvement on a transfer to Olympique de Marseille and, indeed, no endorsement of termination has been signed by the player who remains under contract to date with OL
No notice of change has finally been signed on the documents of the LFP by the 2 clubs and the player, a prerequisite set by the LFP for the approval of a transfer.
Accordingly, Olympique Lyonnais, for the 1st time facing this type of situation where a club is trying to get a transfer without the formalization of all official documents required by regulations, notes with regret the situation and ask Hatem BEN ARFA to be present Monday to resume training with the professional staff under the responsibility of his new coach Claude PUEL.”
This is a first. And frankly there’s something going seriously wrong at Lyon. I’m still wondering who to believe since Pape Diouf and the Marseille staff said everything was done and even sent papers to the LFP. I can’t even think how they would send those papers if they were not sure everything was done . This is the second time Lyon gets back on their word on a transfer but this is far from being over. I’m not going to get too much out there since I have ZERO information. I’ll wait for more. In the meantime, I’ll wait for the someone to speak officially on this.
C.R.E.A.M Get The Money, Hatem…
By: Magnusson | 1 Comment
If you’re anything like me, you want to know what’s holding up the Ben Arfa transfer and more importantly why a club so eager to get rid of a player wants HIM to agree to a deal with THEM. Lyon gave an ultimatum so succint on thursday that it intigued most people. It finally turns out it’s a matter of money (like it’s not always about dough). So apparently Lyon forgot a clause in HBA’s contract that allows him to receive 1.5 million euros from the transfer fee they might receive. Problem is that when they signed that, People over at Tola-Vologe may have anticipated an Essien,Diarra, Malouda-like pay off for the kid from clubs like Barcelona or Madrid. But obviously blinded or just sloppy, they forgot to include that sum in the deal with Marseille and agreed to sell Ben Arfa for 11 million (doesn’t the real price frighten you. Last saturday, there were talks of 17 million).
Now Jean-Michel Aulas and his people are backpedalling super fast and threatening in order to get the player scared and make him give up the 1.5 million. Problem is, Hatem Ben Arfa seems to be a pretty stubborn fellow and has categorically refused to sit on the jackpot. Let who would have refused that payout cast the first stone…
Olivier Blanc, Lyon’s communication director told RMC that if “HBA doesn’t try to be reasonable (read: “give up the money”), this deal is not interesting for Lyon and won’t go through.
Problem is, Hatem is already in Marseille and has been spotted in many spots shopping for furniture and enjoying the town since he doesn’t have the right to attend trainings at the Commanderie. Pape Diouf on the other end, seemed very calm about the whole situation and said that if Lyon wanted to go back on their word, “they [were] taking their desires for reality”.
This may still be a summer long affair after all!
Ben Arfa this easily? Too good to be true…
By: Magnusson | 3 Comments
You have to give credit to Jean-Michel Aulas, he never disappoints. Never. While everyone agreed that the Hatem Ben Arfa transfer was super easy and smooth (not top mention cheap since it turns out Ben Arfa was sold at around 12 million), Nothing had been said on Lyon’s side. Now at around midnight last night, it turns out Lyon agreed with Marseille, that Marseille and Ben Arfa agreed but apparently, Ben Arfa and Lyon do not see eye to eye on a special matter they refuse to make public.
Here is what was officially released on Lyon’s website:
“L’Olympique Lyonnais informe que l’éventuel transfert d’Hatem Ben Arfa à l’Olympique de Marseille devra impérativement intervenir avant demain soir, vendredi 27 juin, pour qu’il soit enregistré à la Ligue avant le 30 juin. Faute d’un accord entre le joueur et l’Olympique Lyonnais, et de cette certitude d’un enregistrement avant le 30 juin, l’Olympique Lyonnais sera conduit à renoncer au transfert. En conséquence, l’Olympique Lyonnais n’a pas accepté que le joueur se rende pour l’instant à Marseille pour passer une visite médicale. “
This needed to be reported in french so that I wouldn’t get confused. So Lyon refuses to let Hatem Ben Arfa pass the traditionnal physical because the player and the club didn’t agree on something. What? I don’t know. This is what Pape Diouf responded:
“L’Olympique de Marseille totally refuses to suffer the consequences of a lack of foresight by the Olympique Lyonnais in what seems to be an omission of a clause in Hatem Ben Arfa’s contract. Lyon has agreed on paper to seal the deal before June 30th!”
Pape diouf added that if that ever went through, it was because Lyon had corrupted officials on the Juridic Commision of the League. Way to put pressure on Thiriez. You wouldn’t want to piss off the Ligue 1 cashcow! After the Clerc debacle two years ago, this is another one of those “Coup de Théatre Lyonnais”.
Apparently, this year, the declarations war between Diouf and Aulas starts extra early
Samir Nasri, still a Marseillais…
By: Magnusson | 4 Comments
So wednesday was the official start of the season and every player was at the Commanderie except for the internationals who were still recovering from their World Cup Qualifiers (Modeste M’Bami, Amine Erbati, Karim Ziani and Taye Taiwo) or on vacation because of the Euro (Steve Mandanda and Samir Nasri). All the players on loan were here (Salim Arrache, Renato Civelli, Fabrice Begerogi, Bostjan Cesar, etc…) unde the watchful eye of new physical preparator Christophe Manovrier (from Amiens. The old one, Boixel left for Nantes).
So everyone was there, even a player who were not supposed to. The man who has been blowing hot and cold for a few weeks now was in Marseille taking advantage of his last days living with his parents (That’s a wild guess) and took a few hours out of his busy schedule (once again, most National Team members are on an island somewhere, chillaxin’) to come through a place he called home since he was 9 and that he’s apparently about to leave. Samir Nasri seemed very happy to play foosball with Djibril Cissé and was hugging and kissing everyone. Either this is one hell of a PR move or the “Equipe de France” mood was real shitty.
As for his Arsenal signing, he apparently refused to talk about it and answered to a La Provence journalist the he was a Marseillais (duh!) and still a Marseille Player!
Now do with that as you please.
New uniforms unveiled…
By: Magnusson | 11 Comments
As any other team in the world, Marseille has brand new uniforms for this season and they are changing a bit from last season’s. First of all, NEUF Télécom will no longer be the main sponsor as Robert Louis-Dreyfus’s other company will take over.
Created in 2003, DIRECT ENERGIE is an alternative electricity provider in France who mainly works with professionals and is trying to get into the home owner’s game (as it is open since july 2007).
This company is supposed to produce “Green” and cheaper electricity (now, how the hell do you produce green energy? I have no idea!). No matter how cheap the energy was before this, it’s going considerably more expensive as their presence on the constant best seller in terms of jerseys will boost its notoriety. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: French Ligue 1Hatem Ben Arfa is marseillais…
By: Magnusson | 3 Comments
This is the biggest surprise of this mercato yet! Just a few days ago I assumed Hatem Ben Arfa wouldn’t be a Marseille player until July 31st (if he ever were to become one) since Jean-Michel Aulas suddenly asked for more money this weekend (he went from 15 to 17 out of the blue) as he appointed a new manager in Claude Puel who made it public as soon as he arrived that he counted on Ben Arfa for next year.
But apparently either I was underestimating Lyon’s will to get rid of the rumored troublemaker or Jean-Michel Aulas’s declarations about strengthening the Ligue 1 were not all bullshit. Waw. My RSS feed went insane at about 1Pm today when it was said that Marseille signed the Lyon striker who would be at the Commanderie soon for a physical.
The even better news is that we “only” paid the initial 15 million asked for the wunderkid.
I would like to know what you guys think of this? Do you think Ben Arfa’s arrival balances out Samir Nasri’s departure?
I’ll try to write a little bit more about this as soon as I’m done with reading and digesting it!
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