Gunners Could Halt Fabregas Transfer To Barca
Shortly after La Furia Roja won the prestigious World Cup title, 23-year-old midfielder Cesc Fabregas also won the hearts of Barca players and supporters. Heck, even Puyol and Pique went as far as forcing Fabregas to wear a Barcelona jersey during the national team’s World Cup victory celebration. Funny stuff.
But I digress.
As far as Barcelona is concerned, it appears that there’s no stopping the transfer express. Unless of course the Gunners gun down the tracks. And who can blame them for wanting to keep their star skipper in an Arsenal shirt?
As of press time, Barcelona is said to be planning one last bid for the Arsenal skipper. But Barca boss Pep Guardiola fears that any deal may be shot dead by the Gunners. “I think that Cesc will cost a lot. We want him to come, but I understand that he is an important player to Arsenal and if they don't want to negotiate, he won't come. I'm not optimistic or pessimistic and understand that Wenger wants to keep him from other teams in England and Madrid, who would also like him. He is a great player,” revealed Guardiola.
The first time Barcelona tried to fetch Fabregas from Arsenal, the Catalan giants offered £29m for Fabregas’ services but was turned down early in June.
If rumors are true, then the new deal is £5m higher than the original proposal, one which Barca hopes to gain Arsenal’s attention as the summer transfer season winds down.
Barca is bringing out the big guns for this transfer. FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi has recently stated his desire to play alongside Fabregas saying that it would be an absolute pleasure to have the Arsenal skipper on board.
Messi further told AP: “He (Fabregas) grew up in the Barcelona youth system and we played together.”
It would be interesting to see how two great players like Messi and Fabregas would link up.
Xavi, another Barca boy who has voiced his intention of seeing Fabregas at the Nou Camp, stated: “We know where Cesc wants to be this coming season, but perhaps there is not enough time for Barcelona and Arsenal to agree a deal.”
“Arsenal needs to understand they are only delaying the inevitable. If we don’t manage to get his signature this season then Arsenal only really has him on loan for a year – because there is nothing they can do to stop him joining next summer.”
“His (Fabregas’) people will have a whole season to sort out the deal between the two clubs and it will happen at the very latest next summer,” added the Spaniard.
“I haven’t given up on him joining us this season but if he doesn’t, it won’t be more than a year before he is back home. We were all with him for five weeks in South Africa and we know he wants to be at Barcelona, he made it very clear. But he will under no circumstances do anything that will upset the Arsenal fans. And that’s probably why we are going to have to wait for him for another year,” stated Xavi.
Pressure is building on Fabregas. The lure of joining Barca is strong. They are, after all, the Spanish champions and are keen to build on their recent success in La Liga. Who would not want to join a winning squad like Barca? Perhaps, forever Madridistas Iker Casillas and Raul-- but that’s another story.
After the acquisition of David Villa, Barca has bared its plans of signing another big star in Fabregas. But will Arsenal stand down?
Your guess is as good as ours.
Tags: