Reasons to stay?
There were a few.
He got treated like a demi god by this club.
He was given opportunities and honours that few players get at his age.
He was happy enough to sign a long term contract and become our best paid player but when the going got tough he wanted out.
Not only that but he put us in a situation where we had no choice but to sell him for a stupidly low fee.
The reason he left was purely because Barcelona are currently the best team in Europe and that's where he's from, that's where he wants to be.
Unfortunate circumstances dictate that the club he came from are in the ascendancy just around the time we're suffering and he's hitting his prime.
The only reason I'd have for not making RVP captain is that the armband seems to be some kind of curse these days.
