The Times
May 18, 2009
Arsene Wenger coy over Real Madrid
Gabriele Marcotti, European Football Correspondent
Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has admitted that taking the reins at Real Madrid would be “an interesting project” while stopping short of denying that he had spoken with Florentino Pérez, the Spanish club’s former president and the leading candidate to win Real’s presidential elections this summer.
Speaking on Téléfoot, French television’s equivalent of Football Focus, Wenger appeared reluctant to pledge his future to Arsenal, despite a contract that runs to 2011.
“Pérez would be committed to a truly spectacular project, one which would be extremely interesting to any coach,” he said.
And when asked directly whether or not he had spoken to Pérez or his representatives, Wenger replied: “Allow me to remain discreet on that matter.” The French manager has long been proud of the fact that he has always honoured his contracts and, over the years, has turned down approaches from teams such as Real Madrid (twice), Bayern Munich and France. But, once again, he appeared somewhat coy on this subject during his appearance on Téléfoot. “In general, I always go right to the end of my contract,” he said.
Wenger’s appearance comes just a few days after last Thursday’s AGM when, for the first time since taking over at Arsenal back on October 1, 1996, he faced direct criticism from a section of the supporters present.
This latest statement would appear to cast doubt over his plans both in light of some of the criticism he has received, as well as the club’s uncertainty in terms of ownership, where the two foreign-born billionaire shareholders, Stan Kroenke, the American, and Alisher Usmanov, the Uzbek, appear to be jockeying for control.
Real Madrid would offer Wenger the chance to work at one of the world’s biggest clubs with a seemingly open chequebook. Pérez is keen to invest heavily in order to restore Real to their perch atop world football. During his previous tenure as president, from 2000 to 2005, he ushered in the so-called galáctico era, spending heavily to sign players such as Luis Figo, Ronaldo, Zinédine Zidane and David Beckham.
The possibility that Wenger might be considering Real must come as a shock, not least because his philosophy of building through youth seems to clash with Pérez’s stated goal of immediate success. Furthermore, at the Emirates Stadium Wenger enjoys near-total control, whereas, as previous Real coaches – including Fabio Capello – have discovered, at the Bernabéu power is shared with a host of club figures, from the sporting director to the president himself.
A more plausible, if more cynical, interpretation of Wenger’s words might be that he is keen to send a message to Arsenal, their supporters and, in particular, his critics.
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Interesting development ... will Perez get the man he wanted to bring for so long ?
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