Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Nick Simmonett 
Date:Wednesday October 10 2007
Time: 7:17PM
UK time is: 01:35:16
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Arsenal Owe Barcelona NOTHING
Reports in the British press taht Arsenal have been ordered to pay FC Barcelona £2.2Million are totally false.
It is in fact Arsenal's young starlet Fran Merida has been ordered to pay his former employers the cash for 'formation costs and future value.'
Merida moved to Arsenal last summer after Barcelona made a mistake with contracts, meaning he wasn't tied to the club. Arsenal stepped in and signed the then 16-year-old.
It was after that that Barca took the lad to court to recieve compensation for his move, rather than seeking it from Arsenal.
After a court battle lasting nearly a year, Merida, 17, yes that's right - SEVENTEEN has been orderd to pay his former employers the massive sum.
It is, however, expected that Arsenal will pay the money on Fran's behalf.
Considering the potential of the player, £2.2Million is nothing compared to what Barca will be offering in 5 or 6 years time to take him back to Spain.
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Your Comments
hope to see him play soon in CC.
fcdematthew
£2.2Million is too much isnt it?
afghenry
He'd be worth paying it for, he is very talented, see him in the youth cup last year at the emirates, he oozed class, seems to have that extra second on the ball like fabregas. Cannot see him ever going back to Barca if thats how they treat him, he was 16 when he left them, i suspect it was more natural talent than their training, 2milllion is a bit harsh.
Harry671
I before E except after C.
BlackRed
Getting a judgement of 2.2m against a 17 yr old is pretty pathetic imo. Why shouldn't he choose to further his career elsewhere? You'd have thought they'd have learned from losing Cesc. I'm sure we'll pay it, but it's petty and vindictive on Barca's part. They had their "revenge" for Cesc and Meridia by whoring themselves to Henry for 4 years. Ultimatelty they were a match made in heaven.
FAB 4
There is one thing we owe them Simmo and that's a damn good thrashing at the Luzhniki stadium on May 21st 2008 ;)
nikolaijns
oh, niko, don't give me ideas! a re-run, just like Milan got, would be manna from heaven. What are the odds that Lehmann gets sent off again after 12 minutes?
afri-gooner
dont worry,i will be playing for THE ARSENAL first team soon,and that 2.2 million will be money well spent....watch this space
fran merida
About the same as Sol popping up and getting a goal Afri-gooner!!
nikolaijns
haha so true niko. This is ridculous for a court to order a 17 year old to pay 2.2 million to a football club. What kinda of person would do that to a kid?
gunnerkid107
It's not so different to the deal that we paid for Cesc. Arsenal reportedly handed over 1mn euros and cancelled a remaining payment of £1.5mn owing from the Overmars/Petit deal. Also all in all about £2.2mn. I guess that was good value and hopefully Merida will prove a good investment.
Amos.
This does sound strange. Does anyone have a link to the full story behind his signing? If it was so simple as Merida being free and signing for whoever he wanted, the court would not have ruled against him (or so I would presume, logically).
prits
I googled the story, and I cannot find the logic behind this fine. Arsenal and Merida did nothing against the laws. I dont even see where this was unethical. Merida simply thought his career would be better off at Arsenal. What the hell is the logic in getting a 17 year old to pay a club like Barca £2.2M? I must admit I'm stumped.
prits
What about liverpool and man unites they also got players with these types of transfers why are they not getting punished.
AB_Arsenal
Considering we earn £3.1m every match, i don't think it'll do us any harm in just paying the money. The youngster has immense potential. I saw him in the Under-17s world cup and he was one of the reasons Spain reached the finals.
WouldYouBelieveIt?!
Barca screwed up the contracts and now wants us to pay compensation??? Totally absurd!!!
stukazufuss
This isn't a ruling by FIFA or UEFA this is an action taken in the Spanish Civil Courts by Barcelona against Merida on the basis of the 8 years training he received and him then walking out some months before he joined Arsenal. Apparently there is to be an appeal and if so it hasn't reached the end but in principle it seems fair that if a club educates a player for 8 years they should get something back for it unless they release him voluntarily.
Amos.
spainish dogs..
dats why i like valencia, RM and barca are just crooks
korodon
Spain is a horrible country. the national coach of the spanish team made the most racist remark ever made in football towards Henry ,and how was he punished? 2000 euros. so this is no shocker..
luckys_10
I do agree that they should be paid for their efforts in developing him - anything else is unfair. On the other hand this is the same damn club that wants to take Fabregas in the summer or anyone else their President/PR take a fancy to in the summer. So yeah, let's pay the buggers but lets make sure it's long and drawn out just like their tapping up campaigns.
Andy-bayor
According to one Barcelona blog the Spanish judge making this decision if favour of Barcelona is a member of their fan club. Reportedly the matter is being refered to the European Court of Arbitration.
Amos.
It may seem fair in principle to compensate Barca, though I dont completey agree with it. The life of a professional footballer is so unpredictable - how can they be certain Merida will make so much in future ? In that sense, the judgment is flawed as far as the amount is concerned, especially if the fine is to be borne by the player personally. Moving away from looking at the situation logically, this must be what they call 'karma' for Barca :).
prits
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