Wednesday 2 February 2011

Wenger slams illogical Chelsea fees

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has blasted hypocrites Chelsea after they spent £76.5 million on Fernando Torres and David Luiz.

Chelsea were firmly in the spotlight during the January transfer deadline day dealings where they shelled out over £70m on the two players - despite their owner Roman Abramovich claiming to support UEFA's policy of financial fair play.

"Chelsea supported UEFA's financial fair-play proposals but in the morning they announced a £70m loss and in the afternoon they buy £75m worth of players. Where's the logic in that?" Wenger was quoted in The Guardian as saying.

"It's hard to guess. Officially they vote for financial fair play but they can explain why they have done this much better than I can."

Wenger was speaking after seeing his side come through a tough test against Everton to keep pace with Premier League leaders Manchester United.

The Gunners came from a goal down to beat Everton 2-1 and Wenger is certain London rival Chelsea, who also won on Tuesday night, will spend heavily again in the summer.

"Abramovich was a bit in no man's land where nobody could guess if he wanted to still invest or not. He has been like that for a long time but that has changed. He has decided to put big money in again and that tells you in the summer more will come. He is back to full investment," Wenger said.

Rivalries aside, UEFA did release a statement on Monday morning acknowledging the frenzied transfer activity on January 31, 2011.

The European governing body, who will begin to sanction clubs that do not comply from 2014, said clubs could spend what they wished so long as they balance their books.

A statement said: "UEFA is aware of the recent transfer activity across Europe and is confident that clubs are increasingly aware of the nature of its financial fair play regulations which require them to balance their books.

"It must be noted, however, that the financial fair play rules do not prevent clubs from spending money on transfers themselves but rather require them to balance their books at the end of the season. It is therefore difficult to comment on any individual situation without knowing the long-term strategy of each club."

However, it is understood by the Press Association that while Chelsea understand the money spent would make meeting UEFA's financial fair play targets more difficult, they remain confident of doing so.

It concluded that with the transfer fees for Torres and Luiz spread over the players' five-and-a-half-year contracts in terms of the club's financial figures, the £75million spent will not come in one big hit.

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