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Super salty Barcelona paper Sport rues the Alex Song transfer

The former Arsenal midfielder, who will be moving to Rubin Kazan this summer, is the target of ire for Sport and I could not be any happier.

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Remember Alex Song? Yeah, I barely do as well. In case you've forgotten or don't know who he is, he once played for Arsenal and then nearly got in a fight with the coaching staff one summer before we hoodwinked Barcelona (for the umpteenth time) into paying far more for his services than he was ever worth a few years back.

His career at Barcelona was memorable. It included highlights such as this:

and this:

And after having to make what surely was a difficult decision for all involved, Barcelona has agreed to sell Song to Russian club Rubin Kazan, ending his illustrious career at Nou Camp.

But the local press, as they are apt to do, will not let this transfer go without having the final word, and Sport steps right up to fulfill that role. And I, for one, could not be any happier with their parting shots:

(translated) The Cameroonian Alex Song became Thursday new player of Rubin Kazan. The midfielder officially dissociates and final FC Barcelona, ​​where he arrived in 2012, after the Catalan club paid Arsenal 19 million in an operation that has ended up being disastrous for the Catalans interests.

The midfielder was preceded of Fame physical player, was expected to be a mixture of Yaya Toure and Seydou Keita. However, the reality turned out to be very different.

Although figures were not disclosed operation, some sources indicate that the club might have ended up giving the player a free agent before the team find difficulty because of its high tab.

The ratio between the price paid by the club for him and the number of minutes played in the last four years with the Barca shirt is bleak. A calculation as fast as anecdotal states that every minute of Song has cost a whopping 4,600 more euros to the club (without the record player).

These are some of the main figures of the unfortunate 'operation Song':

  • 19 million paid FC Barcelona for his transfer to Arsenal on 08/20/2012
  • 5-year contract with Barca 80 million clause
  • 5 million annual tab
  • 25 million market value in 2012 (according Transfermarkt)
  • 6 million market value in 2016 (according Transfermarkt)
  • Played 65 official matches with FC Barcelona
  • 44 official matches as a titular (editor note: heh)
  • 1 goal and 2 assists with FC Barcelona
  • 4,113 minutes played as Barca
  • 2 assignments to West Ham

In summary, Barcelona's transfer history with Arsenal is the kind of schadenfreude that fuels my day. And I hope the same is true for each and every reader of this post.