Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has revealed how he had to pause transfer negotiations to sign Danny Welbeck from Manchester United because he was meeting the Pope.
Wenger brought Welbeck to Arsenal from rivals Manchester United in a deadline day move at the end of the 2014 summer transfer window.
As negotiations reached a crucial stage, Wenger was in Rome for Pope Francis’ Match For Peace, an interreligious charity game featuring legends such as Diego Maradona and Roberto Baggio.
The Frenchman picked up the bizarre story on The Athletic’s Orstein and Chapman Podcast: “Danny Welbeck - when I went to the Match For Peace, I arrived at the airport and was told he’s come down to sign for Tottenham. I managed to intercept him.
“In fact, it was a funny story because I was negotiating the whole day. We had Ivan [Gazidis] and Dick Law to negotiate and they called me up. I had the agent on the phone and I told him, ‘Look, I have to hang up because I’m in front of the Pope!’
“He said to me: ‘What?!’
“I said, ‘Yes’. Because we were queuing up to take a photo with the Pope in a private audience. I was at the back of the queue because I had to talk and negotiate and at some stage I arrived in front of the Pope. So, I had to say, ‘Look, that’s not possible anymore because I have to meet the Pope now’.”
