With a clause of €50m in his contract, Thomas Partey was an easy transfer for whoever wanted him.
After all, it meant there was no need to negotiate with Atlético Madrid, bypassing a lot of hard work if the fee was simply deposited and a contract agreed.
That’s exactly what Arsenal did in the final hours of the transfer window, triggering the clause in his contract and signing the Ghana international to bolster their midfield.
However, the way they went about it, without any real warning, didn’t exactly thrill Atlético Madrid, and a lot has been said in the Spanish media since then, with many questioning the move in the first place.
🔴📲 #DAMIÁN se calienta en nuestro Instagram Live:
💥 "¿Thomas dice que quiere mejorar y se va al Arsenal? Se ha ido por dinero. El Atleti es más equipo".
PÁSATE 👉https://t.co/8DLmdsOyFP pic.twitter.com/c7S3oAO1uW — El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) October 13, 2020
Among those is José Damián González, a journalist for El Chiringuito, who took to Instagram Live to reveal his feelings about the whole thing.
He said: “What looks bad is the way he left in the end, and the clumsy thing his father, Jacob Partey, said, that he went to improve himself in a big team. Last year, Arsenal finished eighth, didn’t qualify for the Champions League. They’re in the Europa League group stages.
“Thomas left for the money. Everyone, in all professions, wants to earn as much as possible, but he went for the money. I’ll say it now and I’ll stick by it: Atlético are a better team than Arsenal.”
In the end, we’ll have to wait and see whether or not Partey made the right choice for his career, but the Emirates faithful certainly won’t care too much because the next time the midfielder suits up to play for his club, it might still be in red and white, but there won’t be any stripes involved.
