Exactly what the title says, if you’re an Arsenal fan, root for Barcelona to defeat Juventus in the Champions League Final. This is because of a clause in Thomas Vermaelen’s transfer deal with Barcelona.
The defender went to Barcelona and in addition to the £15 million transfer fee, Arsenal insisted a clause be put in to be compensated based on Barcelona’s future success as long as Vermalen is a Barcelona player. Because of this, Arsenal will receive £2.8 million (about $4.4 million) if Barcelona wins the Champions League.
It’s a good thing compensation isn’t based on if Vermaelen plays or not because he hasn’t played for Barcelona at all this season. He has been injured for a vast majority of the season due to a hamstring tear that he suffered playing for Belgium in last years FIFA World Cup. He hasn’t played for Barcelona yet.
This is pretty crafty of Arsenal to take some stock into one of the most successful club teams in Europe. If you can’t win Champions League yourself, may as well get behind a Spanish superpower and try to make some money in the process. Almost makes it sound like Arsene Wenger put a couple million bet on Barcelona in the Champions League. Anyway, don’t be surprised to see Wenger walking around the training ground in a Lionel Messi kit over the next few weeks.
