Pep Guardiola backs Cesc Fabregas to move to Barcelona
As the Spanish nation celebrates their first ever World Cup triumph, club owners across Spain are preparing for the next domestic season with an intent to hold the toughest club competition in Europe for leading teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Most of the Spanish players in the World Cup winning squad play in Barcelona or Real Madrid hence it is easy to understand where the real strength of Spanish football lies.
With the start of the local domestic circuit some months away, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, who was roped in last weekend for a one-year contract with one of the strongest clubs in the world, clarified his team’s interest in Arsenal´s Cesc Fabregas.
Barca have already acquired the services of one of the stars from the World Champion team in the shape of striker David Villa and influential Brazilian playmaker Adriano Correia in their squad.
They still have a budget of 40 million Euros to spend on players which has been indicated by club officials. The football centric Spanish media has reported that FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell is set to take some time out this week and jet off to London in a bid to strike a deal with Arsenal. Despite that, Guardiola thinks it would be a tough task for Barcelona’s owner.
“I understand Mr. Benger wants him. Not only Barca wants Cesc Fabregas. All the English teams would like to get him. Real Madrid also wants him as I understand. It is understandable. He is a high-level player, young, we know him and he started off from here. He left because they took him away when he was only 15, so it´s understandable that he is wanted here," Guardiola told a news conference during a training session at the club’s venue.
Fabregas was one of the most sought after players in his country and was also a part of the youth program initiated by Barca before Cesc moved to the English Premier League nearly seven years ago.
He recently expressed his desire to represent his original team, and understandably the Catalan club is keen on seeking his services especially in the wake of the World Cup success.
Sandro Rosell and his board took over the reins of the Spanish and European giants at the start of the ongoing month and indicated that their priorities included the re-organising of the club's finances.
Meanwhile Guardiola clarified that he has a good relationship with him, yet he won’t want to meddle in their affairs that are beyond his realm of responsibilities as he has never done this before.
"Last year I didn´t speak to president Laporta and this year I don´t speak to president Rossell. Probably it´s something I have to be aware of because I probably give rise to this, that I don´t get on well with the presidents. But I had a really good relationship with president Laporta. I had the chance to train the second and then the first team, and with president Rossell it´s the same thing.”
On the other hand, arch rivals Real Madrid, who have hired the most sought after coach in the shape of Jose Mourinho, have spent a whopping 254 million Euros last year on Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. Despite that, Guardiola remains unfazed by their money, claiming that his team was good enough to beat them in any competition
"It is going to be two years since they reached a final, two years without winning anything, and I guess all the investment they´ve made in the last two years is for that. We cannot win with numbers, so we´ll try to win with enthusiasm and trying to be a team, a benchmark, which plays well”. He concluded sounding a clear warning to his fiercest rivals.
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