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Willian has agreed to forgo more than £20 million in wages In order to secure a return to Brazil with Corinthians.
The winger signed with Arsenal on a free transfer a year ago from Chelsea, but on wages in excess of £200, 000 a week.
The move has proved to be almost an unmitigated disaster for both parties, with the Brazilian, in the eyes of the club’s supporters, emblematic of what has been wrong with the Gunners transfer strategy in recent years.
There has also been a backlash against signing any more Chelsea players towards the end of their careers who are past their best, Petr Cech and David Luiz being two other examples.
Now the 33-year old has achieved the best thing he has done in an Arsenal shirt by walking away, with his contract cancelled by mutual consent. That is despite the fact that he still had two years left on his deal, and would have been entitled to sit on the side-lines, counting his money as it came in each week instead.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.