Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has a problem with FIFA's plan to ban the transfer of players under the age of 18. A staunch believer in developing young talent, as opposed to making big money signings, Wenger believes FIFA's new plan will stunt the growth of the best players. "If your players cannot move to the best clubs, I believe they will not improve," Wenger said. "I am against the process of stopping the players moving to the top level. If you have a child who is a good musician, what is your first reaction? It is to put it into a good music school, not in an average one, so why should that not happen in football?"
The issue came under scrutiny since Chelsea was banned from buying players until January 2011 for signing a 16-year old French player, reportedly provoking the player to break his contract with Lens. As Chelsea appeals the ruling, FIFA is investigating other transfers involving English clubs to determine if they wrongly poached players from overseas clubs. FIFA president Sepp Blatter has called this practice a form of "child slavery."
But Wenger disagrees. "If a player goes to Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, it is all clean and he gets a good education. That is why I am very sharp on cases like that," Wenger said. "We have to respect the rules that are in place. People think that we take 30 players every year and you get them into your academy. No, it's not like that. When we take one or two, we give them a top-level education, we give them a top-level scholarship, and we look after them socially."