Arsenal director Lord Harris: Wenger has £200m to buy any player he wants – except Messi and Ronaldo
Arsene Wenger has been told he has licence to break the club's transfer record by Arsenal director Lord Harris.
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Arsenal have over £200m available to spend on new transfers, said the owner of retailer Carpetright, after overcoming the financial burden of building and moving to the Emirates.
Lord Harris told The Daily Mail Wenger could buy any player in the world "apart from Messi and Ronaldo", but admitted that the 65-year-old Frenchman could have a war chest at his disposal and choose not to use it.
He said: "Money was tight when we moved to the Emirates but it's a lot freer now. We could go into the market and probably buy any player in the world, apart from half a dozen who are un-buyable. In the accounts, there's over £200m in the bank. You could say to Arsene we've got no money and he wouldn't worry, or you could give him £100m and he might not spend it.
"At the moment there are no plans to sign anyone, unless he finds a real superstar like Mesut Ozil or Alexis Sanchez. He's looking for one of those but there aren't many available.
"We would back him to break the club's transfer record. If he wanted the man, he could have him. Apart from Messi and Ronaldo, he could have any player. We will probably have to break the club record to get the man he wants."