Mattheu Flamini announced he wants to leave Arsenal, which we guess is bad news for the club because we think we remember he scored a goal once or something. But the interesting part is that it seems like the Frenchman – not Chelsea’s Frank Lampard – could become the first Premiership player to invoke new FIFA transfer rules allowing players of certain circumstances to buy out their contracts,
“I have reached the end of a cycle,” Flamini told l’Equipe.
“I have spent three years at Arsenal and my lawyer has assured me I can leave in June. To do that I have to pay the club my last year of wages.
“My next three years will be important. I want to play and reach a new level.
“The Arsenal team is young and has qualities, but I play rarely at the moment.
“It is a difficult moment to experience and in such a situation any player asks himself some questions.
“Above all I want to go on working and improving. I want to score more goals, assist more often and finally win the Champions League.”
The rules, which would have allowed Frank Lampard to leave Chelsea for around 8 million rather than the massive fee the club would have wanted – means that Flamini will be off on the cheap and to whatever club he chooses. If successful, as with Jean-Marc Bosman, it might turn out that a less than significant football player takes the first step in making a massive difference to how players can move between clubs.