Mundo Deportivo don’t sound too happy with Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin. The Spaniard has made it clear over the past week that he’s happy at Arsenal, and he’s subsequently expected to agree and sign a new contract soon.
Bellerin’s comments haven’t gone down too well with Mundo Deportivo, the Barcelona newspaper saying that there was never any interest anyway. They’re very blunt on the matter and claim: ‘The international Catalan fullback was not interesting (Barcelona), period.’
There’s more, it’s explained that Arsenal’s play is very different to Barcelona’s, and they’ve already got Sergi Roberto, so there was no interest.
Bellerin was apparently using Barcelona and Manchester City, with Mundo Deportivo suggesting his camp encouraged rumours to get a better deal out of Arsenal. The only club actually interested, reports Mundo Deportivo, was Manchester City… not Barcelona.
Oh no, not Barcelona. You got that? Right.
Therefore it’s maybe a little surprising that, whilst not as fervent as their Catalan cousins at Sport, Mundo Deportivo reported that Barcelona were interested. Repeatedly.
To be clear, on their front page, Mundo Deportivo said Barcelona weren’t the only suitor, making it quite clear they thought there was interest.
In May, it was reported by Mundo Deportivo that Bellerin was Barcelona’s priority, and that technical chief Robert Fernandez had contacted the defender.
In July, Mundo Deportivo said Barcelona were one of several clubs who had ‘knocked on the door’ of Bellerin. Again, any move would be hard for their local heroes, but Mundo Deportivo clearly reported Barcelona interest in the Arsenal player.
In October, the same journalist who wrote Mundo Deportivo’s critical Bellerin article said: ‘The main objective of the club, following the departure of Dani Alves, was Hector Bellerin, former Barca player who now plays for Arsenal. All technical factors play in his favour, from the knowledge of the game Barca to having ‘DNA Barca’ and sees nothing wrong with his possible return home.’
At that stage it was made clear that given Bellerin’s high price, it wasn’t what Barcelona would be going for now, but the ideas of there being no interest, and him not really suiting the club, certainly weren’t argued.
Things really changed a couple of weeks ago or so, with Mundo Deportivo saying it was Bellerin awaiting the call from Barcelona, rather than the other way around.
There seems to be some sour grapes here. Mundo Deportivo repeatedly pushed Bellerin interest, and even recently didn’t dismiss the idea of interest, but rather explained he was more expensive than Barcelona were looking for.
It’s a bit much to then turn the tables on the player, say he wouldn’t fit anyway, was using Barcelona, and, perhaps most toy-out-of-pram-like, say he’s ‘closed the doors’ on a potential Barcelona future with his ‘gratuitous and unnecessary’ comments.
