How Pope Francis helped Arsenal complete £16m transfer deal with Man Utd (2025)

Arsene Wenger felt a meeting with Pope Francis inadvertently helped Arsenal agree a £16m transfer deal with Manchester United.

The ex-Arsenal boss spent transfer deadline day in 2014 in Rome ahead of a long-standing appointment to meet the Pope, who died on Monday at the age of 88.

Wenger said it was an experience he ‘did not want to miss’ despite deadline day traditionally being one of the busiest and most stressful days of the year for those involved in football.

The legendary manager also agreed to be involved in a charity game in the Italian capital promoting ‘peace and multi-religion understanding’.

Wenger was still negotiating transfers in the queue to meet the Pope but put his phone away shortly before the private audience.

‘Meeting the Pope was an experience I did not want to miss,’ Wenger recalled some years later. ‘I am a Catholic, so it was an experience, and one I accepted a long time ago.

‘On top of that it was a game for peace and multi-religion understanding. I thought today where we are a bit in front of an international religious war [in Gaza], it was a very important game.

‘He is a great person. He shows humility and is available to meet for everybody, has a word with everybody.

‘He is also a football fan. He is a supporter of San Lorenzo in Argentina. You cannot be born in Argentina and not be a football fan.

‘He spoke with many Argentinians, so I wanted to be discreet and just say, “it was nice to meet you and bye”.’

Wenger believes his meeting with the Pope gave him an ‘advantage’ in the race to sign England forward Danny Welbeck from Manchester United.

The Frenchman was up at the crack of dawn for the big day in Rome and used the time around the flight to make progress with transfer talks.

Tottenham expressed interest in Welbeck but Arsenal agreed a deal worth £16m to bring the forward to the Emirates Stadium.

‘In 2014 you can always be in touch with everybody even when you travel,’ he added.

‘The advantage of that day was I had to get up at 6 o’clock in the morning for my flight and I was available the whole day.’

Welbeck made over 100 appearances for the Gunners but has arguably produced his best form later in his career at current club Brighton.

A number of pundits have suggested Manchester United made a mistake by selling the 34-year-old given his revival on the south coast.

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday following a period of ill-health that saw him spend five weeks in hospital with pneumonia.

In a statement published by the Vatican early on Monday, Cardinal Kevin Farrell said: ‘This morning at 07:35 local time the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father.

‘His entire life was devoted in service to the Lord and His Church. He taught us to live the values ​​of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalised.

‘With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.’

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer shared his condolences ‘to the whole of the Catholic Church’ following the Pope’s death and said he was a ‘Pope for the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten’.

US President Donald Trump added on social media: ‘Rest in peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!’

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