Mehdi Benatia

[Mr. Aguia]

Are you all forgetting how much Roma dug their heels in when we were after De Rossi? We won't be signing Benatia unless he really kicks off about the move. Don't hold your breath when dealing with Roma.

De Rossi never wanted to leave Roma.

So? Benatia has been quoted as saying he wanted a new contract and told fans he 'wasn't leaving'... Sounds like he just wants a bumper new contract... Exactly the same thing happened with De Rossi.

Do not hold your breath on signing this guy, if we do sign him, we'll have to pay big money and I don't think we're willing to. Same goes for Mangala, we won't pay over the odds for anyone anymore.

DDR never wanted to leave. tMancini really wanted him and Roma were keen to sell him. When we weren't willing to pay the 40m they demanded the deal ended. They tried to sell him to Chelsea last year for 20m and when Chelsea refusal to pay killed that deal.

With Benatia it seems the club made him a promise if he signed a long term deal and they made the UCL they would give him a raise. It seems that they reneged on the raise they originally promised and only offered him a small raise. Now he feels the club have treated him unfairly and wants to leave. If they gave him the money they agreed on he wouldn't have asked to leave. Even if they gave him the money at this point he may still want to leave because of the way things went down.

 

[abu13]

So he wants to leave because of a dispute over money?

imagine the shit that would fly if they don't buy him a birthday cake.

 

[Llandegren]

I do think that the boys upstairs do have a backup-plan. I've been watching a lot of Bundesliga, La liga and Ligue 1 games this season and i've seen som choices that might be cheaper and better for us than Benatia or Mangala.

One is N'koulou. Perhaps not proven for BPL football but still young and been a pain in Ibrahimovics hole twice this season.
Also we have Höwedes, Inigo Martinez and, as we all know of before, Garay. Hope they aim for cheaper choices than 25+m.

 

[Bluesiam]

IF it is this, that's a f*cking cheeky (but brilliant) way to get around the transfer spend cap. Paying the fee in "sponsorship"..

1) We don't own Etihad, and 2) If Roma receive a sponsorship deal it must make it easier for them to resist a big transfer bid

1) Correct.
2) Unless the sponsorship deal includes implicit requirements that Roma maintain a "mutually beneficial" relationship with City.

It would surely be rather naive to think that Etihad's relationship with City will have NO influence at all.

 

[SebastianBlue]

1) We don't own Etihad, and 2) If Roma receive a sponsorship deal it must make it easier for them to resist a big transfer bid

1) Correct.
2) Unless the sponsorship deal includes implicit requirements that Roma maintain a "mutually beneficial" relationship with City.

It would surely be rather naive to think that Etihad's relationship with City will have NO influence at all.

I've made that point several times in response to other posters that believe the sponsorship will have no affect in City's relationship with Roma or any other Etihad brand partners.

I don't think it will effect this transfer but it will influence economic development between the clubs.

 

[BlueRockape]

No news then ?

 

[Llandegren]

No news then ?

We can only hope that he really wants out and wants to join city. Other Thörn that we got to focus on other targets...

 

[BlueRockape]

No news then ?

We can only hope that he really wants out and wants to join city. Other Thörn that we got to focus on other targets...

I said early on in the thread I was told that the deal was done and the guy is usually quite good with his info, hence the question

 

[Rammyblues]

If we are doing the deal it usually goes quiet for a couple of weeks anyway, maybe we have started the real negotiations.

 

[BlueRockape]

Maybe just the fee that was agreed