Jamie Vardy was heavily linked with a transfer to Arsenal in 2016, but the Leicester City forward has now explained on his new podcast the reason behind his decision to stay
Jamie Vardy has revealed that he turned down the chance to join Arsenal from Leicester City in 2016 due to “loyalty” and his sense of belonging with the newly-crowned Premier League champions.
A decade ago, Vardy was high on the Gunners’ wish list after his prolific season propelled the Foxes to an unlikely title triumph. The forward bagged 24 Premier League goals, including an extraordinary streak of finding the net in 11 successive matches, contributing to one of football’s most remarkable feats.
After weeks of transfer rumours during the European Championships in France, Vardy opted against a switch to the Emirates Stadium and instead committed his future to City with a new deal. He would go on to represent the club in LE2 for another nine years before his departure in 2025.
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While Vardy has touched upon the potential Arsenal transfer in the past, his new podcast, ‘Jamie Vardy’s Having A Party’, sees the 39-year-old delve deeper into how negotiations unfolded. It has also emerged that his Leicester contract contained a minimum release clause.
“He [Arsene Wenger] jumped the gun,” he said. “I was just trying to prepare for going to the Euros [and I] got a phone call from my agent saying ‘Arsenal are interested in signing you, I’ve told them to wait.’
“I did have a minimum release clause in my contract, but I’ve told them I’m going to the Euros, I’m focusing on England and to just wait until it’s finished. Then literally two days later, they launched the bid and Leicester obviously couldn’t reject it. So I was like ‘******* hell!’
“I had two days off and my two days off involved going to see Arsene at his house. [He] explains the clubs, says what he thinks you can do, how good it would be for the players behind me and my runs. Everything they were saying [about] selling the club. That’s what they’re there to do.
“Straight back to the grove, jumping on the plane and you’ve got Jack Wilshere like, ‘Oh, you signing for us?’ And I was like ‘******* hell, give me a yard’. And then three days later, I rang Becks (wife) up and said I’m not going.”
When pressed on what ultimately swayed his decision to remain at Leicester, he explained: “Loyalty. I’d been given my chance at Leicester and we’d just won things. I legitimately thought, the way we were playing, we could go on to win more.
“If I’m honest, just having that place to stay. We all know in football that you can be at one club for one year, then another for two and then another for six months. Football is constantly moving so having that foundation of a home played a massive impact.
“I came to the decision, got the Euros out of the way, came back and then signed a new deal at Leicester and got that minimum release clause wiped out. I don’t think they’ve had one since.”
