Ramsey reveals he agreed Arsenal stay in 2019 before Gunners withdrew contract offer

Jason Soutar
Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott

Aaron Ramsey was eager to extend his Arsenal contract before leaving for Juventus on a free transfer in 2019, the Welshman has revealed.

The 31-year-old departed the Emirates after an 11-year tenure in north London.


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When he joined Juventus in 2019, Ramsey penned a mammoth contract reported to be worth somewhere between £200,000-£400,000 per week.

His time in Italy was pretty miserable… on the pitch anyway.

The Welsh midfielder suffered injury after injury and was limited to three Serie A appearances last term before joining Rangers on loan in the winter transfer window.

Ramsey scored twice for the Scottish giants in 13 appearances as they finished runners-up to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League final.

Currently at OGC Nice, the experienced Welshman has played eight times in 2022/23 but has not been included in the French club’s matchday squad for their last four matches across all competitions.

Ramsey played a whopping 371 times for Arsenal and scored a famous goal in the final of the FA Cup in 2014 to end the club’s nine-year trophy drought.

That game against Hull City was not the only time he netted in an FA Cup final after he did so again versus Chelsea three years later.

The Gunners were unable to agree fresh terms with the 31-year-old midfielder with his contract expiring in 2019.

There were rumours that Arsenal couldn’t meet Ramsey’s wage demands, however, the player has revealed that was not the case.

He says there was a contract put on the table that he was happy to sign, only for the Premier League club to withdraw it.

“It all happened… I agreed to a contract they proposed,” he told The Times.

“Things went quiet for a few weeks. I was telling my agent, ‘Let’s do it,’ then all of a sudden the contract was no longer there. So there was nothing to sign or agree.

“It was a difficult start for a few months with Unai [Emery].

“As the season was going on, I was playing more and playing really well. Then January came and I had to make a decision whether I carried on and saw what happened or whether I agreed somewhere.”

There is no bad blood with Ramsey when it comes to the north Londoners, however.

Ramsey added: “I decided to do that (move) because there was nothing on the table.

“There was a lot of change with the manager coming.

“I don’t understand, I still don’t know what exactly happened.

“I have no bad words or bad feelings to Arsenal.

“They are still a massive part of my life and I still look out for them and I am really glad to see them doing so well. I always have love for Arsenal and that will never change.”