Pope Francis was known to be a big football fan. The Pope died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 following a stroke that led to coma and irreversible heart failure. Not a lot of people know that he had an unusual hand in getting Danny Welbeck to swap Manchester United for Arsenal in 2014.
That love for the sport even meant he had a roundabout way of impacting Arsenal‘s transfer business during the 2014 summer window.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wngerwas spending transfer deadline day in Rome as he had an appointment to meet The Pope as well as participating in a charity football match.
In fact, the Gunners’ manager was even negotiating during his wait to meet The Pope as Arsenal tried to work out a late deal to lure Welbeck away from Old Trafford.
Speaking at the time, Wenger said: “Meeting the Pope was an experience I did not want to miss.
“I am a Catholic, so it was an experience, and one I accepted a long time ago.”
Adding: “He is a great person. He shows humility and is available to meet for everybody, has a word with everybody.
“He is also a football fan. He is a supporter of San Lorenzo in Argentina. You cannot be born in Argentina and not be a football fan.
