Sky Andrew lifts lid on surprise fact about Sol Campbell’s controversial move from Tottenham to Arsenal

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It was the free transfer which rocked football when Sol Campbell left Tottenham Hotspur for bitter rivals Arsenal back in 2001.

Newspaper journalists and photographers had arrived at the Arsenal training ground to cover the rather less newsworthy unveiling of goalkeeper Richard Wright but instead got a surprise package from the club’s hated rivals Tottenham Hotspur instead.

Sol Campbell’s contract at Spurs – where he was club captain – had just expired and he walked into the room to audible gasps from the waiting press.

It is probably something the like of which will never be seen again given the very public nature of football transfers in the modern era with the advent of the internet and social media.

Campbell has been reviled by Tottenham fans ever since and has received years of abuse from his former club, being labelled a traitor.

Speaking last year, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger told Arsenal TV: “Sol definitely knew before the last week [of his contract] that he was signing for us. At least, before that he promised to sign for us.

“I realised [how significant it was] when we played our first game at Tottenham. It was difficult for him but this man is not afraid of big decisions.”

But for the first time Campbell’s agent Sky Andrew has told talkSPORT the defender was in fact still mulling over the move on the morning of the press conference.

“From the get go my philosophy to him was whatever you do honour your situation, honour your contract,” Andrew told talkSPORT.

“(I said to him) ‘I’ll structure your contract in the best way for you, but you just honour your contract’. And I just drummed that into him so when it came to all the money being thrown at us it really didn’t effect me and money still doesn’t affect me today. If you chase money it puts on pair of trainers and starts running.

“When he got to the point when it looked like maybe it wasn’t going to work out, I mean he received an absolute astounding offer from Barcelona, even in today’s market its astounding, many more times than what he got at Arsenal.

“But all the way along, because he was so focused on what was best for his football career… what transpired in the end towards the end of the contract was that Arsenal was the best place for him to go and play football. At no time before that was he considering going to Arsenal because when you’ve got every top club in the world after you and his position was I’m not talking to anybody until I’ve got things sorted out with Spurs.

“He obviously at that time just wanted to stay at the club, he was trying to find a way to stay at the club, but in the end it didn’t work out and then when the decision was made that ‘OK that’s the best place for me to play my football’ it still wasn’t easy.

“Up until the night before we still wasn’t sure it was going to happen. And yet 9.15 in the morning was the time it was announced and if you remember when it was announced there was loads of cameras there and they thought it was the goalkeeper Richard Wright and when he (Sol) came from the back everybody couldn’t believe it was him, because it was just so late in the day.

“It’s a bit sad really that people can’t make decisions for the craft and that was a decision made for the craft. The rational people I feel for because it was a hero joining a rival. But the abuse we received was just over the top.”