Barcelona declare interest in Arsenal captain Fabregas
Barcelona declare interest in Arsenal captain Fabregas
Barcelona are interested in bringing back Cesc Fabregas, a Barcelona youth product, to Catalunya.
The club’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain admitted the midfielder is still on their radar but he says the Catalan side will not be spending Zlatan-esque money on Fabregas this summer.
“It depends on how much we want to spend,” he said in Marca. “If we spend a lot of money, it is possible (to bid for Fabregas). We do not know how much it will be yet. We have not asked Arsenal.
"If the amount is too high, we will not try.”
Fabregas came up through Barca’s academy before joining Arsenal for a paltry £500,000 in 2003 and Begiristain says the 22-year-old is one of the few players in world football who could improve Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning side.
Arsenal surely will not let their captain go for cheap, although they did let former Arsenal legend Theirry Henry go to the Nou Camp for only £16m. Arsene Wenger has already sold Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure to Manchester City this summer for a combined £40m.
Barca fans have watched their greatest rivals Real Madrid go on a massive summer spending spree, signing Cristiano, Kaka and Xabi Alonso this summer at an estimated cost of around £220m. However, Barcelona supporters are surely content with being the current champion of Europe and Spain.
Guardiola recently said the inflated market is a bad place in which to do business this summer and Begiristain confirmed Barca wouldn’t just spend money for the sake of it.
“We find it difficult to improve what we have and that is the reality,” he said. “Improving a team that has won a treble is difficult, and trying to improve dramatically can get you into trouble.
"Any new player must be compatible with the plans of the coach. Here the views of Pep Guardiola are critical.”
“I don’t want to dismiss any of the players we like and will help us improve,” he said. “There are several options.”
Barcelona have not been completely quiet this off-season, they have added Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as well as Brazilians Maxwell and the 20-year-old starlet Keirrison.
