Hleb to buy out final 2 yrs of contract and join Inter !

• zocoss

  9 May 08, 11:16

  

  Hleb, will buy out the final two years of his contract and join Inter Milan in the summer.

   

  ARSENE WENGER was staring into an Arsenal abyss last night after Alex Hleb revealed he is the latest star to quit the club. Hleb, 27, will buy out the final two years of his contract for £3million and join Inter Milan in the summer. He follows Mathieu Flamini who snubbed a new Gunners deal to sign for AC Milan on a free.

   

  Boss Wenger also faces a fight to keep Cesc Fabregas after Real Madrid confirmed this week the Spanish star is their No 1 target. Hleb’s agent, Nikolai Shpilevski, revealed the Belarus midfielder gave Wenger the news face- to-face yesterday.

   

  Shpilevski said: “Alex is preparing to make one of the most important moves of his life. “He is leaving even though Arsenal want to offer him a new long-term contract. “Only time will tell if it is the right decision but there’s no way back now. Everything will be settled in the next two weeks.”

   

  Wenger is furious Inter publicly announced they wanted Hleb — who cost Gunners £10m three years ago — and could report the Italians to FIFA.

• JLennon

  9 May 08, 11:23

  That buying out contract ruling is ludicrous.  Its just another accelerated Bosman ruling.

• Master -_-

  9 May 08, 11:24

  damn i love to see Arsenal next season

• reyes

  9 May 08, 11:44

  agree that buying contract stuff is crazy thing. it would put the advantage on the bigger clubs. when they just announce they interested in any player, the club has no choice but to sell him or face the buying out clause of 2 years.

  Helb i tink has let arsenal fans and wenger down. the first year he was below average player. when he finally come to terms with EPL tempo and starting to reward wneger and fans faith, he left!.  i hop inter dont win shit next year!!

   

• zocoss

  9 May 08, 11:49

  The thing is Arsenal should have renewed his contract last year when he was into his 2nd yr... These days, Players can leave a club 3 yrs after they signed their last contract and join another club in another country...

  It doesn't help Arsenal when these players see what have happened to past players of the club like Henry, Vieira, Ljungberg, Pires... They were not given new contracts when they are reaching or reached 30 yrs of age... At best, they will offer them one yr rolling contracts for those they feel that are still performing... But from the players point of view, they will feel insecure knowing should they get any serious injuries during their last few months of their contracts... They could be left with no salary or job for a long period...

• reyes

  9 May 08, 11:58

  the first 2 year helb was a below average player.

  it surprise us or even wenger when he and flamini become the most improve player this season.

  it seem this player market are only going to get more crazy. with clubs getting more risk and table a 6-7 years contract for the player. but trade off is, what happen if the player dont perform, are you willing to him the high salary for a non performing player?

   

• zocoss

  9 May 08, 12:14

  Originally posted by reyes:

  the first 2 year helb was a below average player.

  it surprise us or even wenger when he and flamini become the most improve player this season.

  it seem this player market are only going to get more crazy. with clubs getting more risk and table a 6-7 years contract for the player. but trade off is, what happen if the player dont perform, are you willing to him the high salary for a non performing player?

   

  
  Thats the pros and cons of it all... Fabregas signed an 8 yrs contract in 2006 and the duration should last till 2014 but next season he can also buy himself out if Arsenal don't offer him a new contract... Fabregas is still very young and loyal to Wenger, maybe he don't see what those coming to 30 yrs old players feel...

   

• thongs

  9 May 08, 12:24

  good bye my most fav player in arsenal currently

• Spartans

  9 May 08, 12:29

  Haiz, another key player has decided to leave us.

  Arsenal really need to relook at its wage and contract structure. How many players are we losing due to this? We rarely see such situations happening in Man U or Liverpool.

  And I believe this is just tip of the iceberg. There is more departures to come.

• zocoss

  9 May 08, 12:35

  Arsenal have to change their transfer policy otherwise they will fall behind. Cos Even Spurs are willing to equal their record transfer fee by paying £16.5m for Luka Modric. They are willing to pay top $$$ for transfer targets... Good players arriving Hutton and Woodgate could help them topple the gunners for that 4th spot next season if Arsenal don't be careful...

   

• stellazio

  9 May 08, 12:40

  time for another rebuilding season.. then 2 years later when can challenge for honours, rebuild again.

• redDUST

  9 May 08, 12:45

  if hleb's leaving is true, arsenal's ever rebuilding effort will never end. i find arsenal and liverpool are still `conservative' clubs. in some ways, it is still `british' the way it is run though none of its players are. arsenal will like do worse next season by all accounts.

• iceFatboy

  9 May 08, 14:46

  smart move.. at his age, he can't hang around too much for major honours.

   

• zocoss

  9 May 08, 15:23

  HLEB TO LEAVE ARSENAL

  

  
  

  Alex Hleb's agent has finally gone public with his client's wish to leave Arsenal this summer.

   

  The Belarusian, a close friend of the AC Milan-bound Mathieu Flamini, has repeatedly been linked with a move to Inter Milan amid claims that he has been offered a double-your-pay offer by the Italian club. Famously, after reports he had left Arsenal's hotel to meet with Inter representatives before their Champions League tie in Milan, his absence was explained as a search for an ice cream.

   

  Now his agent, Nikolai Shpilevski, has admitted: "Alexander is preparing to make the most important moves of his life.

   

  "He is leaving Arsenal even though they want to offer him a new long-term contract and better conditions. Only time will tell if leaving is the right decision, but there's no way back now. Everything will be cleared up in the next two weeks."

   

  Hleb joined Arsenal from German club Stuttgart in the summer of 2005 and has so far made 89 league appearances, scoring seven goals.

   

• SiMiLaiEh*

  9 May 08, 17:06

  leave ba..

  i dun see him as a scorer altho he got amazing dribbling skills

  even in D box he would pass to someone -.-

• Patrik

  9 May 08, 17:48

  

• reyes

  9 May 08, 19:31

  i also think helb departure might not be bad afterall. as someone mention, he seldom score and would pass even in goal scoring position.

  on the otherhand,few clubs can achieve win trophy depend on players churning from youth academy alone! the only one i can remember is ajax of the early 90s.

  conclusion : arsenal board of directors left ba!!!. we definitely need another russian tycoon to compete with the best!!!

   

   

• zocoss

  9 May 08, 20:00

  

  Wenger plays down Hleb talk

  Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has played down reports suggesting Alex Hleb will definitely leave the Emirates Stadium for Internazionale this summer. The 27-year-old Belarus midfielder's agent was quoted as saying Hleb had turned down the offer of a lucrative new contract in favour of joining the Serie A champions-elect at the end of the season.

  Several reports have also suggested the former Stuttgart playmaker was willing to buy himself out of the remaining two years of his contract.However, Wenger has denied claims that Hleb is definitely on his way in the summer and will follow AC Milan-bound fellow midfielder Mathieu Flamini to Italy.

  When asked if there were any developments concerning Hleb, he told Arsenal TV: "Frankly, no. "You cannot stop people talking but at the moment there is nothing (to add). "I believe that usually all the players want to stay and I expect this team to say 'let's make a pact together, come back next year and win'. "That's what I expect them to do and my priority is to keep the team together, add what I think can help us to be even better, and then see from there."

  Meanwhile, Wenger has denied claims that the Gunners board could have done more to keep out-of-contract Flamini at the club. The France international opted to join AC Milan on a free transfer earlier in the week after rejecting the offer of a new contract. "Yes. I believe that even Mathieu would concede that (Arsenal had done everything)," he continued.

  "We put him in the bracket of where we could go and we made him that offer, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. "We have to accept that because Mathieu was a good servant of the club for four years and he came without costing any transfer fee and left without costing any transfer fee, so he was free to go."