Cesc Fabregas: Barcelona boss says midfielder wants to stay
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas does not want to leave the club this summer to return to the Premier League, says manager Tito Vilanova.
Manchester United lodged a £25m bid for the 26-year-old former Arsenal captain on Monday but, according to the Barca boss, the player wants to stay for now.
“It is a good sign that the club gets offers for our players… but Fabregas wants to stay”
“I know he has received offers from other teams,” said Vilanova.
“But Cesc has told me he wants to stay here. He has told me it is his dream to stay with Barcelona.”
Vilanova added: “He doesn’t want to go to other teams for money reasons or playing time. He knows there is competition for places here, but his decision is to stay. I am relaxed about the situation.”
United have yet to receive a formal response to their offer, which is understood to be some way below Barcelona’s valuation.
“It is a good sign that the club gets offers for our players,” continued Vilanova. “It shows we have players other teams want. But Fabregas wants to stay.”
Fabregas facts
He became Arsenal’s youngest player when he faced Rotherham United in the League Cup aged 16 years and 177 days in October 2003
He was part of the Arsenal team that beat Manchester United on penalties in the 2005 FA Cup final – their last trophy
Fabregas, a Spain international who helped his country win the World Cup and become European champions twice, came through Barcelona’s academy before Arsenal signed him as a 16-year-old in 2003.
He developed into one of the London club’s key players under manager Arsene Wenger before becoming Arsenal captain in November 2008.
He spent eight years with the Gunners, playing 303 games and scoring 57 goals, but returned to the Nou Camp when he signed a five-year deal with Barcelona in a £25.4m move in August 2011.
He has since helped the Catalan club win the Copa del Rey in 2011-12 and La Liga in 2012-13.
Fabregas has played 96 times in two seasons with Barcelona, including 60 league games, but has rarely featured in his preferred midfield role, with Xavi, 33, and Andres Iniesta, 29, ahead of him.