The Pedro Effect
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The biggest transfer story this week has without doubt been the prolonged saga of Pedro’s exit from Barcelona. The 28-year-old winger looked odds-on to become Louis van Gaal’s latest addition at Old Trafford. It seemed that it was just a formality when Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodard flew out to the Catalan capital earlier this week. National papers here in the UK, both reputable and not so reputable, were confident that the deal was done, the Times stated ‘’This week or next, United will sign Pedro’’, going further to say in the article by Rory Smith that Pedro’s arrival would push Juan Mata to the bench.
Oliver Kay in the Times says United hope to tie up a deal for Pedro this week. pic.twitter.com/FN8pbkLgPG
— James (@writtenoff_mufc) August 18, 2015
Somehow, Chelsea managed to hijack the deal, in a move as audacious as their kidnapping of Willian right from under Tottenham’s noses two years ago. But what really happened ? I think it will be some time before we know the true extent of how this panned out. There are conflicting reports in the media, firstly there is that van Gaal was never really truly set on Pedro in the first place, but is this just the soundings coming out of Old Trafford to save face ? The other side of the coin is that United’s transfer negation dallying left the door open for Chelsea’s late swoop. If that is the case then the blame lies with Woodward, and Pedro joins a long list of transfer targets that Woodward has failed to nail down for one reason or another.
Chelsea sign Pedro from Barcelona for fee that could rise to £21.4m #SSNHQ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 20, 2015
Chelsea’s eagerness to conclude a deal for the player was ultimately the deciding factor in this saga, they moved stealthily and swiftly in the shadows. The Blues’ shadow walker was none other than Cesc Fabregas, a team mate while at Barcelona and close friend of Pedro. Fabregas convinced Pedro of the merits of the champions, echoing the public sentiments of Barcelona legend, Hristo Stoichkov. So far it has been Fabregas’s biggest contribution to the Blues’ new season and it could prove to the most important one he makes all season.
Unsurprisingly, social media has exploded: United fans have been taunted and jeered, and not just by Chelsea fans. While United fans are steadfast in their belief that they themselves pulled out of the deal. This episode will roll on for some time, Pedro’s contribution as a Chelsea player will be greatly scrutinised by all, and whatever happens over the remainder of the season for both teams, people may will look back to this week as a reference point, to where a masterstroke by Jose Mourinho was engineered or a case of what might have been for United.
While all this has been playing out, a little known Spanish club have been waiting in the background, looking on intently as events have unfolded. The club ; Raqui San Isidro…who ? I hear you ask ! Well they may not be exactly the household name that Pedro is, but just like that famous Liverpool milk advert back in the 1980’s in the UK that brought non league Accrington Stanley to the fore, Raqui have suddenly been catapulted into the public domain.
The minnows, currently in the Spanish fourth tier, something similar to the League 2 in England, are based on the Canary Islands, islands famous for its budget package sun holidays, not for producing world class stars. Pedro though is the exception to this rule, he began his career with the Tenerife club back in 2003 before being snapped up by Barcelona.
Raqui stand to earn over € 440,000 from Pedro’s transfer to Chelsea, all because of a FIFA solidarity directive, definitely one of its better initiatives, in which a percentage of the transfer fee is channeled back down to the club where the player set out on his journey as a player. One notable previous example of this was Robbie Keane, his boyhood club, Crumlin United FC, received € 152,000 in 2003 from Tottenham when he moved from Leeds. This enabled the Dublin based club to construct a new floodlit pitch, however in the case of Raqui it means much more, the very existence of the club.
The club have been battling the threat of bankruptcy now for years, so a windfall like this for the club is like winning the lottery. The club president Jaime Lorenzo aims to put the money to good use, investing in real estate and by doing so a steady flow of income will ensure its survival and much more. Just think if the next holiday you take is in Tenerife you could potentially be paying for an apartment that belongs to Raqui, bought through Pedro’s transfer to Chelsea.
This may not be your archetypal David and Goliath story, but in a sense it is and it is Raqui who are the real winners in all this whatever way you look at it. Its true Chelsea are getting a proven world class player, that has the potential to help stabilise the club, but for a club like Chelsea, and its financial clout, access to players like Pedro are like ten a penny.
