Supporter Measures Stadium Gate At Four Inches After Fichajes Says Porro Keeps Door To Barcelona Ajar

A Tottenham man spent the early hours of Tuesday outside the stadium establishing precisely how far open a door can be before it is no longer deliberately ajar.

He arrived shortly after seven, having read overnight that Pedro Porro is considering a return to Spain, with Barcelona keen on his services, according to Fichajes. The report adds that Porro signed a contract extension until 2031, and that the door to Spain nonetheless remains deliberately ajar.

The man, who has not been inside the stadium since the spring, took the final phrase as an operational instruction.

It says deliberately. Somebody has to be deliberate about it. It's not going to be the club.

By twenty to eight he had located a service gate on the west side, pulled it to a gap of roughly four inches, and secured it with a wooden wedge borrowed from a neighbour's kitchen. He then measured the gap with a tailor's rule, noted the figure on the back of a parking permit, and measured it again.

The Herald understands the same report describes Barcelona as facing financial constraints, and that the club is unlikely to entertain a sale for anything less than a substantial fee. The man has accordingly kept the gap narrow enough that nothing of substance could get through, and wide enough to be seen from the road.

A passing groundsman asked whether the gate was meant to be left like that. The man replied that it was not a question for the groundsman. He remained at his post throughout the morning, adjusting the wedge by what our correspondent estimated as a sixteenth of an inch whenever the wind changed.

The report states that Porro is fully focused on returning to action after around a month out. The man has noted this, and has moved the wedge back a quarter inch.

At press time the gate was holding at four inches, and a second wedge had been requested.